22 December 2015

A Year of Smart Diplomacy: Milestones 2015

A Year of Smart Diplomacy: Milestones 2015

Year End Review, 2015


Path-breaking, Proactive, Pragmatic these three P’s encapsulate the diplomatic initiatives and outreach of the Government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015
It was a year marked by out-of-box thinking, boldness of vision and energetic execution, which has reignited the ‘India Story. In the process, India proved itself to be a major player in shaping evolving debates across issues, ranging from global governance reforms and climate change to trans-national terrorism and cyber security.

The neighbourhood continued to be the primary focus of attention as a historic agreement with Bangladesh was completed, and India rushed to assist Nepal after a devastating earthquake. The Afghan President came calling, while relations with Sri Lanka received new impetus.  2015 was a milestone in Indian diplomacy in reinvigorating India’s ties with all P5 powers, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the US, China, France, Britain and Russia, paving the way for marked acceleration of multi-faceted relations with all these countries. It was also a year in which Indias multi-hued engagement with crucial regions of the world, including Africa, West Asia, Central Asia and South-East Asia acquired a new vitality and a long-term vision, opening new vistas for mutually empowering cooperation. The Third India-Africa Forum Summit rejuvenated old historical and cultural ties between the two growth poles of the world and placed the special partnership at the heart of an evolving world order. Indias summit with Pacific Island states signaled a new thrust in Indias diplomacy, which entails taking major powers as well as small and significant states together in the pursuit of common goals and shared interests. Relationships with multilateral groupings such as BRICS, G-20 & Commonwealth were strengthened. The last twelve months also saw India celebrating and bolstering its connections with the 25-million strong Indian diaspora spread across hemispheres, through a host of new initiatives.

Insofar as foreign policy aims to create the environment for domestic growth and prosperity, even while it seeks to raise the country’s global stature, the list of achievements in 2015 is significant. Beyond the photo-ops, visits and agreements, a wide range of possibilities has been translated into tangible outcomes. On the economic front, the sentiments for private investment and inflow of foreign investment have turned positive. FDI inflows have also gone up by 40% in this year alone.  Much of India’s foreign policy outreach has been driven by the need to translate partnerships into benefits for key domestic initiatives such as Make in India, Skill India and Digital India, and agreements with key countries have reflected this requirement. The Make in India initiative, for instance, has received a tremendous response, with some foreign countries allocating specific funds towards creation of manufacturing hubs in India. The recent agreements with Japan, for instance, outline a partnership in a large number projects cutting across sectors, including the high profile bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The Skill India project has found resonance with countries such as Germany, Singapore, South Korea and Japan willing to offer their expertise to benefit India’s growing workforce. Similar has been the case for the Smart Cities initiative and Ganga Rejuvenation. In a landmark visit to California, the Prime Minister’s pitch for a Digital India that would transform access to technology for the majority of the population received an enthusiastic response by leading technology and social media companies. By opening India’s doors to the best of foreign expertise and leveraging partnerships for common benefit, Indian diplomacy seeks to take the goal of foreign policy for domestic transformation for the common man further than ever before.

India’s growth story this last year has been noticed amongst financial institutions and organizations. The country has been recently ranked as the most attractive investment destinations by Ernst & Young. In a ranking of the top greenfield investment destinations in the first half of 2015, India is at number one. Foreign Policy magazine of the US has also ranked India as number one FDI destination.  India has improved its UNCTAD ranking of investment attractiveness from 15th to 9th, moved up 12 ranks in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report of 2016, and jumped 16 places on the World Economic Forum’s global competitive index. Projecting the changes underway in India abroad has been a key focus of our diplomacy.

Neighbourhood Diplomacy: Mapping New Frontiers

Building upon Prime Minister Modis path-breaking initiative of inviting all SAARC leaders to his swearing-in ceremony last year, India continued to reach out proactively to its immediate neighbours in South Asia for a sustained engagement.

Transformational Diplomacy acquired a new resonance with the Prime Ministerial visit to Bangladesh in June that saw the exchange of instruments of ratification of the landmark land boundary agreement. It was literally ushering in a new dawn for thousands of people living on tiny islands of land as India and Bangladesh swapped enclaves, bringing to an end their 68-year-old boundary dispute. The formal swapping of enclaves has brought a new life of hope and dignity for around 51,000 people living in 162 enclaves across both countries, and underlined possibilities of how diplomacy can provide a new direction to the lives of ordinary people.

The June 6-7 visit of PM Modi also saw India-Bangladesh developmental cooperation scaling new heights, with India pledging a $2 billion Line of Credit for Bangladesh, the largest single LOC for any country committed by India. The $2 billion LOC has raised the bar for Indias engagement with Bangladesh and is set to bring the two neighbours in a web of trade, connectivity and shared prosperity. Projecting a narrative of interlinked destinies, the two countries took a host of steps to enhance connectivity, including the launch of two new bus services. The two countries are a part of the sub-regional cooperation between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal to enhance connectivity and regional integration.

Similarly, Indias relations with Sri Lanka scaled new frontiers with a spate of two-way visits by the leaders and foreign ministers of the two countries, within months of the newly-elected Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena taking charge of the island nation. During PM Modis visit to Sri Lanka in March, India pledged $318 million Line of Credit for railway upgradation (New Delhis development assistance is already about $1.6 billion), unveiled a currency swap agreement of US $1.5 billion to help stabilise the Sri Lankan rupee and to develop Trincomalee as a regional petroleum hub with the cooperation of Lanka IOC (Indian Oil Corps subsidiary in Sri Lanka) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Both countries also signed four pacts regarding visa exemption for official passport holders, youth exchanges, customs agreement (to address trade concerns and reduce non-tariff barriers) and the construction of the Rabindranath Tagore auditorium at the Ruhuna University with India’s aid.

Amid the backdrop of the unfolding transition in Afghanistan, India sustained its engaged with Afghanistan and promoted a narrative of friendship in the strife-torn country. The visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to India in April 2015 saw India reiterating its commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. With the economic flowering of Afghanistan in mind, the two sides focused on working towards a more liberalized business visa regime. Afghanistan welcomed India's decision to extend the 1000 scholarships per year scheme by another 5 years as part of capacity building initiatives. India continues its assistance to the construction of the India-Afghanistan Friendship (Salma) Dam in Herat, expected to be completed in the first half of the coming year.  The Parliament Building in Kabul constructed with Indian assistance has already been completed as well as on the Doshi and Charikar power stations.

Indias all-weather friendship with Bhutan, which was galvanized after PM Modis visit to the country last year, continued on an upward curve.  The visit of Bhutans Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay to India in January focused on optimizing cooperation in the field of hydropower the centerpiece of economic cooperation between the two countries.  The two sides expressed satisfaction over the progress of the three ongoing HEPs totaling 2940 MW under the inter-governmental model. They reiterated their commitment to the 10,000 MW initiative and in this context, to the early implementation of the four JV-model projects, totaling 2120 MW.

When Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake on April 25, India was the first to respond to the calamity and the humanitarian tragedy that followed by launching its largest disaster response abroad, Operation Maitri. During EAMs visit to Kathmandu in June, India pledged $1 billion grant for the reconstruction of the quake-hit Nepal. However, the political situation within Nepal offered challenges in the wake of the promulgation of a new constitution that did not take into account the concerns of all sections of the populations. India continues to push for an early resolution of the internal crisis by urging dialogue amongst all sections of society and a consensus driven political solution.

India also engaged with the Maldives leadership despite political volatility in the island country. This was reflected in the meeting between the foreign ministers of India and the Maldives on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York in September. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj followed it up with a visit to the island nation from October 10-11 to reinvigorate ties.

India has consistently said that it wants better relations with Pakistan, but this can be only possible in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. Improving relations remained a major challenge in the backdrop of terror attacks but India made a bold beginning with a meeting between PM Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia. The meeting ended with a shared position that India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development. The two sides unveiled a five-point agenda to address concerns on terrorism and to promote people-to-people contact. Despite a number of hurdles including on account of terror attacks in the aftermath of Ufa, and Pakistan calling off the initial round of NSA level talks, a significant breakthrough was achieved in December with the NSAs meeting in Bangkok, followed by the EAM’s visit to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia Conference. On its sidelines, EAM called on PM Nawaz Sharif and met with her counterpart, Sartaj Aziz following which they issued a joint statement condemning terrorism, noting that NSAs would continue discussions on all aspects related to it and Pakistan would expedite the trial in the Mumbai attacks case. Accordingly, both sides agreed to initiate a comprehensive bilateral dialogue, the modalities of which would be worked out by the Foreign Secretaries.    

With Myanmar on the cusp of a historic democratic transition, India welcomed the elections and the PM congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi for her victory in Parliament. Bilateral relations remained on the upward trajectory with the
First India-Myanmar Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) Meeting held in New Delhi on July 16, 2015, steps to further enhance the existing air connectivity, extending a US$ 500 million Line of Credit to the Government of Myanmar for development priorities, and a commitment to enhance the regional and sub-regional cooperation under the BCIM-EC and the BIMSTEC framework. India also played an instrumental role in providing disaster relief support to Myanmar in response to widespread floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Komen.

Act East Policy: Vision, Vigour and Plan of Action

India's 'Act East Policy,' enunciated with great vigour and foresight by the new leadership, acquired a new force in 2015 and manifested itself in the deepening of economic and strategic partnership with ASEAN countries and the extended East Asia region. Indias diplomatic efforts focused on leveraging synergies with this economically vibrant region and linking up these countries with Indias development agenda, pivoted around interlinked programmes of Make in India, Digital India, Smart Cities, Start-up India, M-Governance and Skill India.

The year also saw a marked upgrade of Indias security cooperation with the region, with the two sides mapping out concrete steps to intensify cooperation in combating terrorism, piracy and traditional and non-traditional security threats. These key drivers of Act East policy were reflected in PM Modis participation in India-ASEAN and EAS summits in Kuala Lumpur in November and in his bilateral visits to Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Singapore Presidents visit to India, Vice-President Hamid Ansaris trip to Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, Myanmars foreign ministers visit to India and visits of EAM Sushma Swaraj to Indonesia and Thailand telescoped multiple strands of intensified and reinvigorated engagement between India and the East Asia region across the spectrum. 

ASEAN and EAS

The 10th India-ASEAN summit culminated in the adoption of an ASEAN-India plan of action for the period 2016 to 2020, entitled Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity.Underscoring the centrality of ASEAN in Indias diplomatic outreach to the region, PM Modi pledged a Line of Credit of USD 1 billion at the 13th India-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur to promote projects that support physical and digital connectivity to transform the corridors of connectivity into corridors of economic growth and prosperity. A Project Development Fund to develop manufacturing hubs in CLMV countries, an Innovation Platform to facilitate commercialization of low cost technologies, the enhancement of the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund from the current USD 1 million to USD 5 million were some of the key announcements. On the trade side, the India-ASEAN Investment Centre, which is set to become functional very soon, will enable the two sides to scale up bilateral trade to $100 billion. India has also called for spurring progress in negotiations for a balanced and ambitious Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that covers goods and services as well as investments.

Enhanced security cooperation, the exhortation to delink terror from religion, and push to adopt the CCIT were important thrust areas. With maritime security becoming increasingly pivotal to secure global sea lanes of communication, India underlined its shared commitment with ASEAN towards freedom of navigation, over flight and unimpeded commerce, in accordance with accepted principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In terms of bilateral interactions, PM Modis visit to South Korea in May, followed by bilateral trips to Malaysia and Singapore in November, reflected in a nutshell, the key emphasis of the countrys Act East policy. During PM Modi’s May visit, India and South Korea agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Special Strategic Partnershipas the two sides decided to establish annual summit meetings, in either country, or on the margins of multilateral events. They infused a new energy into their multi-faceted partnership by signing seven bilateral agreements in diverse areas. The decision to launch a diplomatic and security dialogue in 2+2 format, making Republic of Korea the second country with which India has such a dialogue, reflected the deepening strategic content of the relationship. South Korea is set to play a crucial role in Indias economic modernization, with its companies excited about supporting large infrastructure projects in India. Seoul signaled confidence in the India Story by unveiling $10 billion package to support Indias ambitious projects, including Make in India and smart cities.

PM Modis bilateral visit to Malaysia (November 23) saw the two countries enhance their strategic partnership by signing three pacts, which encompassed diverse areas, including cooperation in cyber security, public administration and culture.   Malaysia is set to play a more proactive role in Indias development journey with Malaysian companies offering to be a part of India's smart cities project and to help in infrastructure development of India.

Indias ties with Singapore, a crucial plank of our Act East policy and the second largest source of FDI, experienced a distinct upward movement during Singapore Presidents state visit to India in February to celebrate 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties and PM Modis November 23-24 visit to the city state. Prime Minister Modi was one of the few world leaders invited to visit Singapore in March 2015, to join the island nation in mourning the demise of its founding father Lee Kwan Yew. During his November visit, India and Singapore signed a joint declaration on a Strategic Partnership agreement and signed 10 bilateral agreements in the areas of defence, cyber security and civil aviation. The strategic partnership has identified five focal areas to strengthen economic cooperation which includes scaling up of trade and investment, speeding up air and maritime connectivity and coastal development, smart city development and urban rejuvenation, skills development and capacity building.

The Vice President’s visit to Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia and EAMs visit to Thailand and Indonesia also helped consolidate our partnership with key ASEAN partners. With Thailand, the signing of a revised treaty to avoid double taxation is set to upscale trade and investment and an exchange of Instruments of Ratification of Extradition Treaty will enhance security cooperation between the two countries. Cultural ties are set to get a boost with the signing of a MoU on Thailand joining the establishment of Nalanda University and a MoU on the establishment of an Ayurveda Chair in one of the Thai universities.

Engaging Major Powers: New Dynamism, New Vistas

Moving beyond our immediate neighbourhood, the new government energetically engaged with key major powers of the world, with the Prime Minister visiting all P5 countries and aspiring members of the UN Security Council, including Japan and Germany. The sustained and variegated engagement with established and emerging power centres opened new vistas for upgrading these crucial partnerships and sealed India’s stature as a rising global power which is central to sculpting an inclusive global order.

US

The new government’s diplomatic calendar began with a trailblazing visit by US President Barack Obama to India as the chief guest at the country’s Republic Day celebrations, the first American president to be thus invited. Building upon PM Modi’s visit to the US last year, President Obama’s second trip to India saw India-US relations scale new milestones as the world’s oldest and largest democracies unveiled a transformative all-encompassing agenda in the form of the joint statement entitled “Sanjha Prayas, Sabka Vikas (Shared Effort, Progress for All), which establishes the US as a prime partner in India’s ongoing national resurgence. The breakthrough achieved in implementing the landmark civil nuclear deal was the most visible outcome of the ongoing transformation in India-US ties. The relations saw a marked upswing in diverse areas, spanning enhanced defence cooperation through pathfinder projects for joint production, green energy, development of smart cities and infrastructure. Underscoring their increasing congruence over a host of global and regional issues, India and the US articulated a joint strategic vision for the Asia-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean.  Buoyed by increasing optimism about the India Story, the two countries have set a target of multiplying bilateral trade five times to US$ 500 billion.

President Obama’s visit was followed by that of PM Modi to the US in September, making 2015 a unique year in the annals of India-US relations with two-way visits by the leaders of both countries. PM’s second visit to the US was singular in so far as this was the first prime ministerial visit from India to the US’ West coast in nearly 60 years, with PM Modi connecting with the corporate and digital elite of Silicon Valley in California. PM Modi’s meeting with President Obama in New York underlined the changed climate in India-US relations as the two leaders sought to upgrade cooperation across an entire spectrum of issues ranging from climate change and economic ties to counter-terrorism, cyber security and UN Security Council reform. Put together, the two visits minted an emerging template of India-US relations, which will be underpinned by Business, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (BITE), as “the defining partnership of the 21st century” looks set to cross new milestones in the days to come. 

PM’s visit was preceded by the launch of the first-ever India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Washington DC, which was attended by EAM Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman.

China

In our extended neighbourhood, India’s relations with China acquired a new stability and added economic and strategic content. Building upon the State Visit of President Xi to India in September last year, PM Modi undertook a three-city tour of China, which was unique in many ways. PM’s visit was preceded by that of EAM’s visit to Beijing in February that saw the launch of the ‘Visit India Year’ in China and extensive discussions with the Chinese leadership on a host of bilateral and regional issues.

Blending diplomacy, culture, business and geopolitics, the May 14-16 visit forged a new narrative of “major powers” engagement and placed the burgeoning relations between India and China as central to the realisation of an emerging Asian century. In a rare gesture, Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Prime Minister Modi in Xi'an, the first time President Xi hosted a visiting foreign leader in his ancestral province. The renewed vitality in India-China relations was reflected in the signing of 24 agreements in diverse areas, ranging from infrastructure, smart cities and railways to culture, skill development, space and climate change.

Intensifying diplomatic engagement across the spectrum, the two sides decided to hold regular summit meetings and agreed to open new consulates in Chengdu and Chennai. PM Modi’s emphasis on cooperative federalism in the arena of foreign policy was reflected in the launch of the first-of-its kind State/Provincial Leaders’ Forum that will facilitate greater interaction between states and provinces of the two countries.

What set apart the summit-level interaction was the “candour” and “constructive” approach to all outstanding issues, including the decades-long boundary question. Building on China’s pledge of $20 billion investment in India for the next five years, which was unveiled during the Chinese president’s visit to India in September 2014, India and China signed business deals worth $22 billion even as the Chinese leadership assured to bridge the trade deficit by  providing more market access to Indian IT and pharma companies. Positioning cultural diplomacy and people-to-people contact at the heart of the expanding India-China partnership, PM Modi announced e-visa facility for Chinese tourists. In cheering news for Indian pilgrims, the two sides signed an agreement that provides an additional route for the annual Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, in addition to the existing Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand. The visit of the PM was followed up with Home Minister’s visit to China, and visits to India by the Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and General Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Japan

Our relations with Japan were revitalised by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s landmark visit to India in December. The visit reflected the personal rapport PM Modi has forged with PM Abe during the former’s visit to Japan last year. Following wide ranging talks that covered a number of issues, the two sides reached 16 agreements including one on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. Of particular significance was Japan’s partnership on India’s economic development through supporting a number of initiatives – the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the Make in India Fund, the ODA assistance for 13 different big projects, dedicated Japan Industrial Townships, the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor all of which add up to more than $35 billion which the two Prime Ministers had agreed to last year. Defence and security as well as maritime security also were also high priority items for discussion, with an agreement on transfer of defence technology and equipment and regular participation in Malabar. UNSC reform, India’s participation in export control regimes, and India’s membership of APEC were all discussed positively.

Highlighting the civilizational ties between the two nations, and mirroring the PM’s visit to Kyoto last year the PMs visited the city of Varanasi to take forward the ties between the two cities. In a unique ceremony, both the PMs participated in the Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi. The visit imparted a new resonance to the ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ and envisaged India-Japan relations as critical to the evolving Asian Century.  

Russia

Our relations with Russia, a time-tested strategic partner, were bolstered by a slew of high-level visits, culminating in the annual summit between PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in December.

PM Modi’s meeting with the Russian president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in July outlined future areas of cooperation, with special focus on scaling up economic relations, civil nuclear energy partnership and enhanced participation of Russia in the Make in India project.

President Pranab Mukherjees visit to Russia (May 7-11) to attend the V-day celebrations saw the signing of seven pacts to enhance educational and innovation cooperation between the two countries. This included setting up of a Network of Indian and Russian Universities and an agreement on encouraging young researchers in both countries to work on innovative research projects.

The visit of EAM Sushma Swaraj to Russia (October 19-21) saw the two countries sign the protocol for the 21st session of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

Europe:  France, Germany and Britain

The Indian government was proactive in stepping up engagement with major European powers.  Prime Minister Modi conducted hugely successful visits to France and Germany in April 2015. In France, he focused on seeking French investment in infrastructure, sanitation, waste management, smart cities, Clean Ganga programme, and defence manufacturing. Major decisions were announced with respect to the acquisition of Rafale fighter aircraft by India, and cooperation between NPCIL and AREVA on the Jaitapur Civil Nuclear Plant. Twenty agreements were signed in diverse areas, ranging from civil nuclear energy, defence and space to smart cities, business, tourism and the promotion of cultural heritage. Frances support for Make in India was reflected in a pact on forging cooperation between Indian and French railways for semi-high speed rail link and station renovation and pledges by French defence majors to undertake co-development of high-value weaponry. In a boost for Indias green drive, French companies agreed to support Indias sustainable development with 2 billion Euros investment by French companies.

In Germany, Prime Minister represented India as the Partner Country for the Hannover Messe Business Fair, the largest such exposition in the world, and made a robust pitch to seek German investment and expertise to support the Make in Indiaprogramme, especially in areas like skill development, renewable energy and defence manufacturing. Several far-reaching collaborative projects in diverse areas were discussed, which were crystallised during German Chancellor Angela Merkels trip to India (October 4-6). The German leaders visit saw a landmark joint announcement on setting up a Fast-Track System for clearing investments by German companies in India and a pact to promote cooperation in the field of manufacturing.

India-UK relations moved into a high-growth phase during PM Modis maiden visit to the UK (November 12-14) and included many symbolic gestures by Britain that included iconic British monuments being bathed in the colours of the Indian flag, an overnight stay by PM Modi at British Prime Minister David Camerons official country retreat, lunch with the Queen of England and the first ever address by an Indian prime minister to the British parliament. The talks in London outlined substantive outcomes that included a bigger role for Britain in Indias plans of national renewal, including Make in India and Smart Cities, reinvigoration of economic ties, enhanced defence and security partnership, a separate joint statement on energy and climate change and a separate statement of intent on partnering in third countries. The signing of a civil nuclear cooperation pact, the decisions to hold PM-level biennial summits and a new Defence and International Security Partnership are set to bring tangible benefits to both countries in days to come. Britains support for CCIT and action against anti-India terrorist outfits operating from Indias neighbouring country was significant. Economic ties are set to climb new peaks with the sealing of private sector deals amounting to 9.2 billion pounds, including a £1.3 billion pound investment by Vodafone.  The decision to issue rupee bonds to be listed at the London Stock Exchange for financing railway infrastructure, the clean energy package worth 3.2 billion pounds of commercial agreements and the visit by PM Modi to the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant in Solihull were symbolic of the win-win economic partnership.

Other Regions

West Asia: Raising the Bar

Indias relations with West Asia, home to over 7 million-strong Indian diaspora and the source of over 70 per cent of the countrys oil imports, moved onto an upward trajectory in the last twelve months.

In the first quarter of 2015, the visit of the Emir of Qatar March 24-25 enhanced diplomatic, economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries. The visit saw the signing of 4 MOUs and 2 agreements in diverse areas, including ICT, scientific and technical cooperation and media. The two sides signed an important agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons and decided to upscale security and counter-terrorism through regular dialogue, sharing of information, intelligence and assessments and training of personnel.

PM Modis visit to the UAE (August 16-17) was a game-changer, which elevated the relationship to the level of a strategic partnership and opened new doors for expanding economic and security cooperation between the two countries. The visit was followed by that of UAE Foreign Minister  Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India  (September 3-4). The talks upscaled relations across key areas, including the forging of strategic energy partnership, and cooperation in space, nuclear energy, renewables and higher education. There was a major breakthrough in enhancing counter-terror and security cooperation, with the two countries launching a security dialogue and stepping up coordination in counter-terrorism operations, de-radicalization, intelligence sharing and capacity building. The UAEs support for the adoption of India-backed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations and support for dismantling terrorism infrastructure and isolating state supporters of terrorism was especially significant.

The visit of Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in August focused on raising the economic relationship between India and Iran in the backdrop of the historic nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries. The talks have set the stage for transforming India-Iran relations and enhancing two-way trade and investment. The decision to move from the existing buyer seller relationship to a genuine energy partnership involving both upstream and downstream is a potential game-changer. Issues relating to the two ongoing projects related to Chahbahar and the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Indias participation in the Iranian railways sector were also discussed.

President Pranab Mukherjees visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel (October 10-15) signaled the Indian governments strategic intent and commitment to simultaneously enhance relations with the Arab world as well as Israel, without allowing it to become a zero sum game.

In Israel, the two sides developed a roadmap for expanding cooperation in solar energy, dairy development, water management, horticulture, animal husbandry and agriculture as well as cooperation between Indian Space Research Organization and Israeli Space Agency. India and Israel discussed new possibilities and synergies to diversify trade as well as mutual investments. Two inter-governmental agreements were signed and eight MoUs were exchanged between the educational institutions of India and Israel.

In Jordan, 16 MoUs and agreements, including between academic institutions, were signed as the two sides explored opening up new synergies in diverse areas including counter terrorism, defence, IT, and energy.

During his visit to Palestine, the President reiterated Indias principled support to the Palestinian cause, calling for a negotiated solution towards a united Palestine, existing peacefully with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and relevant UNSC Resolutions. Six MOUs and Agreements were signed, with India announcing an increase in ICCR scholarships from 10 to 25 per annum, and ITEC slots from 50 to 100. India also extended budgetary support amounting to US $5 million to the Palestinian authority.The India-Palestine Center for Excellence in ICT was inaugurated, and another was announced in Gaza. A IT park (Ramallah) and a Palestinian Institute of Diplomacy, at an estimated costs of US $12 million and US $4.5 million respectively, were also announced.

Africa: Transformative Agenda 

It was the year of Africa for Indias diplomacy as New Delhi hosted the third India-Africa Forum Summit (October 26-29) by inviting all 54 countries. The summit, which was attended by 41 heads of state/government and representatives of other countries marked the biggest ever gathering of African leaders and unveiled a dynamic and transformative agendaof mutual resurgence by dovetailing the India growth story with Africas vision of its own resurgence, as reflected in Agenda 2063. The IAFS-III also saw Prime Minister Modi engaging in bilateral meetings with all leaders of African countries who had come for the summit. The summit was preceded by important initiatives focused on building up a knowledge bridge and bolstering people-to-people contact, which was reflected by the Editors Forum and AcademicsForum. Development cooperation in Africa is set to scale new heights as India announced Lines of Credit worth USD 10 billion in concessional credit to Africa, apart from an additional grant assistance of USD 600 million, which included an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million. Significantly, the total financial pledge for projects to be executed over the next 5 years (till 2020) is more than double of the LOCs and grants committed by India over the last two summits. The $100 million development fund will be used for setting up training institutes and other showpiece projects of India-Africa development cooperation which will be finalized in the plan of action to be launched with the AU next year. With a view to harnessing the youth power of the continent, India more than doubled scholarships for Africans to 50,000 over the next five years. India also decided to expand the Pan Africa E-Network, a defining digital connectivity project that currently encompasses 48 African countries for tele-medicine and tele-education. The IAFS-III mapped out a blueprint for joint development of the blue economy and forged a comprehensive framework for proactive collaboration on a range of cross-cutting issues, including terrorism, piracy, cyber security, climate change, sustainable development, WTO negotiations and UNSC reform. Looking ahead, the summit underlined the convergence of India and Africa on fast-tracking the expansion of the UNSC, with both sides supporting permanent seats for India and Africa in a reformed UNSC. We also agreed to set up a joint monitoring mechanism to track implementation of agreed projects to ensure that there is no gap between ideas and action.

The summit was the high moment in India-Africa relations, but it was preceded by important visits by EAM to South Africa and Egypt and incoming visits of the presidents of Tanzania and Mozambique.

The visit of EAM to South Africa (May 18-21) saw the two sides fleshing out a framework of a five year strategic programme of cooperation as they identified priority areas of cooperation: defence, deep-mining, science and technology, agriculture & food processing and insurance. The two sides also decided to launch an India-South Africa Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). EAM’s visit to Egypt (August 23-25) resulted in the two sides scaling up security and counter-terror cooperation and the signing of pacts on enhancing tourism and scientific and technical cooperation. During the visit of Tanzania President to India (June 17-21), the outcomes  included setting up of a Joint Working Group on bolstering counter-terror cooperation, India’s assistance to development of gas sector in Tanzania and the signing of an agreement on hydrography. The visit of President of Mozambique to India (August 4-8) reflected in a miniature key elements of India’s Africa policy, with its focus on trade, training, technology and capacity building.

FIPIC

Taking off from PM’s visit to Fiji to attend the first meeting of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), India hosted the second edition of the summit to reach out to 14 island states which culminated in a host of initiatives in areas of capacity building, developmental cooperation, renewable energy and blue economy.  Firming up a template for accelerating this crucial partnership across the spectrum, FIPIC-II saw India offering to set up an information technology laboratory in each Pacific island country that will enable people in the region to get access to tele-medicine and tele-education. In areas of training and capacity building, India increased the slots under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training programme, with Fiji getting 110 slots, and the number of slots for the other 13 countries to be doubled from 119 to 238. Other important initiatives by India included partnering in the development of micro, small and medium enterprises in the region, the setting up of an Institute for Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research with a network of marine biology research stations and offer of assistance in establishing a Space Technology Applications Centrein any one of the Pacific island countries for the entire region.  The summit with large ocean states, as PM Modi called it, saw substantive discussions on closer cooperation in UN reform and combating climate change.

Central Asia: Higher Trajectory 

Indias Connect Central Asia policy moved into high gear in 2015, with the unique journey by PM Modi to all five Central Asian states (July 6-13), including Uzbekistan,  Kazakhstan Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Together with our participation in the SCO summit in Russia it sent a strong message on the importance of building on India’s civilisational links with this resource-rich, strategically located region. The path to India’s inclusion in the SCO has nearly been completed and the Ufa gathering has imparted greater coherence and traction to our Connect Central Asia policy. The outcomes were reflected in scaling up economic ties, forging energy partnership, deepening security cooperation and focus on cultural diplomacy to qualitatively transform relations with the region. EAMs trips to Turkmenistan in April and Tajikistan in May set the stage for PM Modis transformational visit to the region in July. 

India and Uzbekistan signed three pacts in areas of tourism, culture and cooperation between foreign offices of the two countries. The decision to fast-track implementation of the contract for the supply of 2,000 metric tonnes uranium to India, enhancing counter-terror cooperation and consultations on shaping a stable and inclusive Afghanistan were among key themes of PM Modis discussions in Uzbekistan.  In Kazakhstan, PM Modi witnessed the drilling of the first oil well in the Satpayev block, in which ONGC has 25 per cent stake. The two countries also signed a pact for renewal of long term supply of natural uranium to India and agreed to explore the transportation of oil and gas through pipeline or LNG from Kazakhstan to India. The “Tej Kadam,” joint statement outlines the template for developing India-Kazakhstan relations as the two sides signed five agreements, including a pact on enhancing defence and military-technical cooperation.

Another major development, which is going to shape the energy landscape of the region, is the decision to operationalise the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the groundbreaking ceremony of which was witnessed by the Vice President during his visit in December. India and Turkmenistan firmed up a template for long-term energy partnership, with ONGC Videsh Ltd opening its office in Turkmenistan and the two countries signing a MoU between the State Concern “Turkmenhimiya” and Indian PSU Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, to provide a framework for long-term sourcing of urea from Turkmenistan. The signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement is expected to boost counter-terror cooperation. With Kyrgyzstan also, the key takeaway was the signing of the defence cooperation agreement, which envisages intensifying joint military exercises, exchange of military instructors and observers, military education and training. During PM Modis visit to Tajikistan, Indias core strengths in training and capacity building were lauded as India offered to set up computer labs in 37 schools in Tajikistan. The two sides also firmed up a 7-step framework for enhancing cooperation in agriculture.

Latin America and Caribbean: Revitalising Ties

A series of two-way visits and initiatives for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region built upon PM Modi’s visit to Brazil last year

Guyana’s President Donald R. Ramotar, was chief guest at Pravasi Bhartiya Divas held in Gandhinagar in Gujarat (January 7 -12) where he was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award. Enhancing development cooperation, India announced concessional credit of $10 million and grant assistance of $8 million. Surinames Foreign Minister visited India (January 11-16), and the visit saw the two sides discussing initiatives to upscale economic and developmental cooperation.

Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. V.K Singh attended the India-SICA Ministerial Meeting in Guatamela (May 28-29). In a major initiative, India offered a Line of Credit of US $240 million to SICA countries (US $30 million to each SICA country), in addition to enhancing ITEC slots.

During Uruguays Foreign Affairs Ministers India visit (October 6-11) the two sides decided to give a fresh impetus to the Preferential Trade Agreement between India and MERCOSUR to boost trade and services. India plans set up a Centre for Excellence and Information Technologies in Uruguay.

Brazils Foreign Minister’s visit (November 17-20) also gave fresh impetus to the important relationship. FM-EAM talks bolstered strategic coordination between the two countries on a host of issues, including UNSC reform, terrorism and cyber security. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between MERCOSUL and India, and talks on resuming the trilateral talks amongst MERCOSUL, India and SACU were explored. This agreement could visibly transform Indias economic relations with not just Brazil but the entire region. Discussions on initiating civil nuclear cooperation were also significant. 

PM Modi met with the Presidents of Mexico and St. Lucia on the sidelines of the UNGA in September. Based on discussions, India and Mexico (an influential player in CELAC), can be expected to expand their economic and energy partnership. Discussions on UNSC reform and Indias membership in global export regimes, including NSG, were significant. St. Lucia thanked PM for giving importance to small countries and their voices.

Multilateral Relations

Indias global stature was on the ascent in 2015, with the last twelve months witnessing the countrys robust engagement in the worlds leading multilateral fora, including UNGA, G20, BRICS, SCO, ASEAN and EAS.

UNGA

The 70th session of the UNGA was special in many ways as we joined in the 70th anniversary celebrations of the world body and robustly backed the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the SDG summit. Supporting the adoption of Agenda 2030, PM Modi outlined steps taken by India in reducing poverty and proactively joining the world in promoting green development. Fast-tracking reform and expansion of the UNSC was the cross-cutting theme of PM Modis address at different events related to the UNGA, including the summit of leaders of G4 countries.

Sustainable development, promotion of renewable energy and climate justice were other refrains in PMs interventions. In a separate address to the UN Peacekeeping Summit on September 28 in New York, PM Modi pitched for a greater role for troop-contributing countries in the decision-making process related to peacekeeping operations and unveiled new contributions by India. These include, among other things, additional battalions of up to 850 troops in existing or new operations, additional three Police units with higher representation of female peacekeepers, and additional training for peacekeepers at facilities in India and in the field.

Making an eloquent case for making the UNSC more credible and representative by including aspiring members, to address the challenges of the 21st century, EAM’s address at the UN also underlined the need for achieving the Security Council reform within a fixed time frame.

BRICS

The BRICS summit in July saw the operationalisation of two key India-backed initiatives, including the New Development Bank (NDB) and $100 billion Contingent Reserve Agreement (CRA), which reinforced the collective BRICS commitment to reconfiguring the global financial architecture. The NDB, with an initial start-up capital of $50 billion, and a veteran Indian banker as its first President, is expected to approve its inaugural investment project in 2016, and is a game-changer in bolstering infrastructure development in the global South.

PM Modi made a robust pitch for fast-tracking IMF quota reforms to enable a larger say for developing and emerging economies in top global financial institutions of governance, imparting a push to the ongoing project of recasting the global financial system. We also backed the intra-BRICS strategic economic partnership which will upscale trade and investment among emerging economies, and positioned them as the future hub of economic growth. India made valuable contributions by making a compelling case for enhancing civil society interaction among BRICS countries as PM Modi unveiled 10 proposals for bolstering the BRICS, which includes, among others, the holding of an annual BRICS trade fair, the setting up of a Railway Research Centre, cooperation among supreme audit institutions, a BRICS digital initiative, the BRICS Agricultural Research Centre, a BRICS Sports Council, and an annual BRICS Sports Meet. PM Modi also forcefully advocated urgent reform and expansion of the UNSC, with a permanent seat for India in the reformed body.

SCO

Indias elevation from an observer to a full-member at the SCO summit in Ufa on July 10 was a milestone that will provide more ballast to its Connect Central Asia policy and promote an integrated and connected Eurasia to become one the most dynamic regions in the world. India offered support for buttressing physical and digital connectivity and backed the International North South Transport Corridor. India also focused on enhancing security cooperation to combat terrorism and the SCOs key role in stabilisation process in Afghanistan.

G20

The Prime Minister’s participation in the G20 summit in Turkey was marked by important contributions to shape the G20 agenda for restoring global economic growth and creating an inclusive global financial architecture. India backed the G20s outcome on developing ambitious country-specific investment strategies, and its proposals for alternative financing structures, such as asset-based financing, and simple and transparent securitization. The PM underlined that his government has zero tolerance for both corruption and black money. In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, PM also laid out a 10 point plan to combat terrorism, underscoring the need to deepen cooperation against terrorism financing, including through targeted financial sanctions and more effective counter-terrorism financing tools, while calling for countries to join hands to isolate states that support and sponsor terrorism.

COP21

At COP 21 in Paris, India played a key role in the final Agreement ensuring that its own concerns, as well as those of other developing countries, were suitably addressed. The Agreement recognized the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, expanding the term to include ‘in the light of different national circumstances.’ It has also specific provisions on climate finance and mitigation actions that indicate developed country obligations, although much work remains to be done.

Speaking at the Plenary, PM expounded on India’s ambitious INDCs which include reducing emissions intensity per unit GDP by 33-35% per cent of 2005 levels by 2030, and ensuring that 40 % of our installed capacity for electricity would be from non- fossil fuels. PM underlined the needs of the developing world, of lifting billions of people into prosperity, which would require advanced countries leaving enough carbon space – the need for climate justice. The PM also launched the International Solar Alliance, co-chaired by India and France, to promote greater use of solar energy. All countries lying between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are eligible to be members of the ISA. India would be hosting the initiative in the National Institute of Solar Energy and announced US $30 million for the secretariat infrastructure.

Diaspora & Consular, Passport Services

The 25-million strong NRI and PIO populations abroad have become a brain trust and bridge-builders between the mother country and their adopted homelands. With their potential role in the unfolding of a national renaissance, diaspora outreach has become the signature diplomatic style of PM Modi and the Indian government’s unstinting commitment to their welfare.

The diplomatic calendar in 2015 fittingly began with the holding of the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas in Gandhinagar, which was attended by over 4,000 delegates.  This year, it was a special moment as it coincided with the 100th anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi, the exemplar NRI, from South Africa to India. The celebration of the Indian community abroad that was staged with pomp and panache last year at MSG in New York acquired more colour and vibrancy this year, with PM Modi addressing rapturous crowds across hemispheres, including Paris, Berlin, Toronto, London, San Francisco, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. In all these places, PM Modi feted their successes in their adopted countries and encouraged them to contribute to ongoing programmes for national resurgence, including ‘Swachh Bharat, Make in India’, Skill India and ‘Clean Ganga. To make it easier for diaspora to visit India and feel more connected, PM announced the merging of NRI/ OCI status, lifelong visas to OCIs, and doing away with police registration upon their visits to India. The government eased diaspora investment in India for funding flagship schemes of the government, the Swachh Bharat Kosh and Clean Ganga Fund. The pilot launch in 5 GCC countries of MADAD - an online grievance monitoring system for the diaspora which allows for time bound redressal, tracking monitoring and feedback on issues – also elicited a huge response.

To facilitate engagement with the diaspora, and to assist business, educational and tourist travelers, the Government has taken a slew of initiatives to simplify and improve passport, visa and consular services.  The passport services became the embodiment of service excellence, having achieved the unique distinction of becoming the only Mission Mode Project to receive three ISO certifications (9001:2008, 20000: 2011, 27001: 2013) together. The facts tell their own story. A strategic reserve of 1 crore passport booklets has been created to ensure that shortage of booklets never becomes a constraint on timely issue of passports.   More than 10,00,000 passport-related applications were processed and over 1,00,000 Common Service Centres across the country co-opted for filing passport applications online. The average passport issuance time (excluding police verification process) has been brought down to under 21 days for 96% of the applications. The government expedited operationalisation of new Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) in the north-eastern states of India— Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim besides the one already functional in Assam. PSKs in the remaining north-eastern states viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura will be set up in the coming months. EAM issued special instructions to all Indian Missions abroad to scale up quality and speed in delivering consular, passport and visa services. Several visa outsourcing contracts were finalised to better utilise the limited manpower resources of Missions. 

Finally, one of the most pressing concerns of the Government in the last twelve months has been to ensure the safety and security of Indians entangled in conflict situations abroad.  India evacuated not just its own citizens from conflict situations in Syria and Libya but also those of many other neighbouring and other countries.  Operation Rahat in Yemen was a major operation, involving chartered flights and ships, with the Indian Navy and Air Force pitching in to rescue 4741 Indians and 1947 foreigners stranded in the war zone.   Underlining the government’s undying commitment to aiding Indians abroad in distress, all these operations entailed wide-ranging coordination between different civilian and military agencies, under the direct leadership of EAM and Minister of State in MEA.

Conclusion

As we come to the close of 2015, we take special pride in India’s ascending diplomatic graph, with the world looking at India as a source of hope and renewal to address a host of cross-cutting challenges. Our relations with countries of the neighbourhood and with major power centres have been consolidated and we have been successfully able to remap our ties with the emerging regions of the world, including Africa, Central Asia and West Asia. With such robust multi-layered achievements in 2015 and India’s global role becoming more evident in every multilateral fora, India’s foreign policy and diplomacy are set to cross new milestones and open new vistas for the nation.

Environment Ministry Notifies Stricter Standards for Coal Based Thermal Power Plants to Minimise Pollution

Environment Ministry Notifies Stricter Standards for Coal Based Thermal Power Plants to Minimise Pollution
The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has notified the revised standards for coal-based Thermal Power Plants in the country, with the primary aim of minimising pollution. These standards are proposed to be implemented in a phased manner. Thermal power plants are categorised into 3 categories, namely those:- (i) Installed before 31st December, 2003 (ii) Installed after 2003 upto 31st December, 2016 and (iii) Installed after 31st December, 2016.

The new standards are aimed at reducing emission of PM10(0.98 kg/MWh), sulphur dioxide(7.3 Kg/MWh) and Oxide of nitrogen (4.8 kg/MWh), which will in turn help in bringing about an improvement in the Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) in and around thermal power plants. The technology employed for the control of the proposed limit of Sulfur Dioxide - SO2 & Nitrogen Oxide - NOx will also help in control of mercury emission (at about 70-90%) as a co-benefit. Limiting the use of water in thermal power plant will lead to water conservation (about 1.5 M3/MWh) as thermal power plant is a water-intensive industry. This will also lead to a reduction in energy requirement for drawl of water.

The standards have been made stringent for recent plants, compared to earlier ones and most stringent for those plants to be set up in future. These standards are based on the recommendation of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) after consultations with stakeholders. The Ministry had extensive consultations with stakeholders and also placed these standards on its website for seeking views/comments from the general public. After detailed discussions in the Expert Committee in the Ministry, these standards were notified in the Gazette of India on 7th December 2015.

Revised cost estimates of Salma Dam Project in Afghanistan

Revised cost estimates of Salma Dam Project in Afghanistan
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the reconstruction and completion of Salma Dam Project in Afghanistan at the Revised Cost Estimates (RCE) of Rs.1775.69 crore.

The project is scheduled to be completed by June, 2016. M/s. WAPCOS, a central Public Sector Unit under the Ministry of Water Resources, is executing the project.

The availability of power and water through the project upon its successful completion will lead to the overall economic development of the western region of Afghanistan and generate goodwill for India in Afghanistan. The completion of this project will address the energy requirements and irrigation needs of western Afghanistan.

The foreign exchange rate variation between Indian rupee and US dollar, increase in consultancy charges due to extended period of project completion, escalation, training of Afghan personnel etc. have necessitated revision in the project cost.

Background:

Situated on the upper reaches of Hari Rud River in Herat province, Salma Dam project involves construction of a 107.5 meter high earth and rock – fill dam and a 42 MW power House with three units of 14 MW each. It also has a provision for releasing water for irrigation of 75,000 hectares of land. The availability of power and water through the project, upon its successful completion, is expected to contribute to the overall economic development of the western region of Afghanistan and generate goodwill for India in Afghanistan.

Major reforms in PDS during 2015, digitisation of ration cards completed in 29 States, online foodgrains allocation started in 16 states

Major reforms in PDS during 2015, digitisation of ration cards completed in 29 States, online foodgrains allocation started in 16 states

Procurement policy modified to provide benefits of MSP to more farmers for paddy procurement

Sustained efforts bring the cane price arrears down to Rs. 5406.24 crore from Rs. 66,003 crore

New provisions to promote quality products & services and to boost consumer protection



YEAR END REVIEW- 2015



The Government achieved significant mile stones in the reforms of PDS by making it more transparent and leak proof. During 2015, digitisation of ration cards completed in 29 States while it was just touching two- digits in the beginning of the year, 16 states even  stared online foodgrains allocations and online grievance redressal introduced in 26 states. Direct cash transfer of food subsidy to the beneficiaries started in Chandigarh and Puducherry in September this year.
            Based on the recommendations of high level committee on restructuring of FCI, procurement policy for paddy modified to ensure reach of MSP operations to more farmers. Millers levy on rice was abolished. The Government also provided relief to the farmers during the year by relaxing procurement norms for their crops affected with the unprecedented rains and hailstorms.
            Due to sustain efforts to facilitate payment of sugarcane arrears to the farmers, arrears came down to Rs. 5406.24 as on November 15, 2015 from Rs. 66,003 crore in the sugar season of 2014-15.

            Highlights of other initiatives are:
Improving foodgrain management
·         High level Committee under the chairmanship of Shanta Kumar, MP was constituted to make recommendations on re-structuring of FCI. Based on the recommendations of High Level Committee on restructuring of FCI, several measures have been initiated to improve the functioning of FCI and to bring in cost efficiency in its operations.
·         Sustained efforts have resulted in significant reforms in TPDS. As a result by first week of December 2015,
-Digitisation of ration cards completed in 29 States/UTs, over 32 crore ration cards have been digitized and over 8.5 crore ration cards have been seeded with Aadhaar,
-Supply chain management implemented in 8 states/UTs.
-Online allocation of foodgrains implemented in 16 states/UTs.
- 56,146 FPS automated by installing ‘Point of Sale’device to swap the ration card.
-Toll free help lines installed in 32 States/UTs.
-Online grievance redressal implemented in 26 States/UTs
- Transparency portal to display all operations of TPDS launched in 27 States/UTs
·         In the month of September, 2015, online formats for obtaining the information related to various aspects of implementation of TPDS in the States introduced.  The information is now available online. This has brought more transparency in implementation and facilitates quick decision making
·         In order to check of leakage and diversions and to facilitate direct cash transfer of food subsidy to the beneficiaries, Government has notified “Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules, 2015” on 21.08.2015 under the NFSA.  These rules provide that DBT scheme will be implemented in a State/UT with the consent of the concerned State Government/UT Administration. Under the scheme, in lieu of foodgrains subsidy component will be credited to bank accounts of beneficiaries who will be free to buy foodgrains from anywhere in the market. For taking up this model, pre-requisites for the States/UTs would be to complete digitization of beneficiary data and seed Aadhaar and bank account details of beneficiaries. The scheme has been launched in Chandigarh and Puducherry in September, 2015. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, is also in full readiness for implementation of this pilot cash transfer/ DBT scheme.

·         National Food Security Act in 24 States, at the end of one year after National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) came into force, i.e, upto July, 2014, implementation of the Act had started in 11 States/UTs. Since then, 11 more States/UTs have joined NFSA the total number of States/UTs now implementing the Act is 23. Sikkim has also notified the implementation from Jan 2016, the number is going to increase to 24.
·         To ensure that beneficiaries of the National Food Security Act get entitled foodgrains positively, rules for payment of food security allowance to the beneficiary in the case of non-delivery of foodgrains notified in January, 2015.
·         The Central Government also decided to share 50% (75%  in the case of Hilly and difficult areas) of the cost of handling & transportation of foodgrains incurred by the states and the dealers’ margin so that it is not passed on to the beneficiaries and they get coarse grain Rs1/kg, wheat at Rs2/kg and rice at Rs 3/kg
·         Department Food & PD’s ‘Group’ namely “Food Security” was opened @ myGov portal i.e. www.myGov.in for engaging with citizens by inviting their comments/suggestions on various issues from time to time. Under the said Group ‘Food Security’ a discussion thread namely ‘Improving the TPDS’ was opened for a period of one month during February, 2015. Suggestions /comments received from citizens have been shared with the States/UTs as well as within the Department for action for an improved TPDS.
·         To bring all operations of FCI Godowns online and to check reported leakage, “Depot Online” system initiated and integrated security system is being set up in all sensitive depots.
·         The Government of India approved approximately 111 lakh MT of wheat and 20 lakh MT of Grade-A rice for sale in the year 2015-16 under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), out of which, 16.93 lakh MT of wheat and 0.40 lakh MT of Grade-A rice was sold by the end of Oct, 2015.
·         As a result of progressive procurement policy of the Government, sufficient food grains are available in Central Pool Stocks of FCI. Stocks as on 01.12.2015 are 504.99 lakh MT, comprising 268.79 lakh MT wheat and 236.20 lakh MT rice.
·         Besides 12 States/UTs already under Decentralised Procurement, Telangana became a new DCP State this year for procurement of rice. Andhra Pradesh & Punjab have also adopted this system partially during 2014-15 to improve the efficiency of foodgrains procurement and distribution operations.
·         Adequate supply of foodgrains made using multi-modal transport in North Eastern States despite disruption in rail route due to gauge conversion from Lumding to Badarpur. 80,000MT foodgrains moved through roads every month besides creating additional storage of 20,000 MT in the region. Foodgrains also inducted into Tripura via riverine route passing through Bangladesh.
·         1, 03,636 MTs of Rice moved from Andhra Pradesh to Kerala for the first time through riverine/coastal movement.
·         The Government revised the buffer norms in January, 2015 for better management of foodgrain stocks. During 2015-16 both storage and transit losses have been reduced to (-) 0.03% due to storage gain in wheat and 0.39% against MoU target of 0.15% and 0.42% respectively.
·         100 MT of rice sent to Myanmar to help the flood affected pocket near Manipur border.
·         Storage capacity for central pool stocks of food grains increased to 796.08 lakh MT.
·         New godowns having capacity of 10 lakh MT under Private Entrepreneur Guarantee Scheme (PEG) constructed in 20 States. Besides this storage capacity of 62,650 MT in North East under Plan Scheme and 1.78 lakh MT in 12 States added through CWC.
·         The FCI has successfully completed the RFQ stage for construction of 6 silos of a total 2.5 lakh MT capacity at 6 different locations in the country- Changsari, Narela, Sahnewal, Kotkapura, Katihar and Whitefield on PPP model, for a modernized system of storage as also for bulk movement of foodgrains through specialized wagons which will help in maintaining the quality of foodgrains, minimize losses and ensure rapid movement of foodgrains.
·         590.41 lakh MT of foodgrains were allocated to States/UTs for distribution under TPDS and other Welfare Schemes during 2015-16 (upto 28.10.2015).   
·         The Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) also achieved all time high turnover of Rs. 1562 crore in 2014-15 and added a record dividend payment of 54% to the Govt.
·         A transformation plan for the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) has been initiated to streamline the warehousing sector. The work on for creation of IT platform and rewriting of rules and procedures has been initiated.
Relief to the farmers
·         In order to give relief to the farmers affected by the unprecedented rains & hailstorms this year, Government relaxed Quality norms for the wheat procurement.  The Central Government decided to reimburse amount of value cut on such relaxation to the State Government so that farmers con get full Minimum Support Price (MSP) even for shrivelled and broken wheat grains or grains having lustre loss. Such a farmer’s centric step was taken first time by any Central Government.
·         Govt. agencies procured 280.88 lakh MT wheat during RMS 2015-16, providing a saviour for the farmers affected by freak rains and hailstorm.

Millers levy on rice abolished
·         To ensure payment of minimum support price to more paddy farmers, millers levy on rice abolished from October, 2015. This will save farmers from exploitation and now they will not depend on millers for selling their paddy.

·         This initiative has improved delivery of MSP to the farmers for paddy even in the situation of market prices ruling below the MSP, especially in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, where the farmers are substantially dependent on millers for selling their paddy.

·         During Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2013-14 only a quantity of 8.52 lakh MT of paddy had been purchased directly from the farmers by the State Agencies in unified Andhra Pradesh, but in KMS 2014-15, such direct purchase of paddy has gone upto 36.76 lakh MT in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana together. The reduction of levy in KMS 2014-15 has not resulted in any substantial reduction of overall procurement of rice in these two States till date compared to KMS 2013-14.

·         Similarly in Uttar Pradesh, the procurement of paddy has gone up from 9.07 lakh MT in previous season to 18.18 lakh MT in current season and overall procurement of rice has gone up from 11.05 lakh MT of previous season to 16.10 lakh MT till April, 2015.

·         In West Bengal also, the procurement of paddy has gone up from 5.79 lakh MT in previous season to 13.29 lakh MT in current season and overall procurement of rice has gone up from 8.27 lakh MT to 13.31 lakh MT till April, 2015

Outreach of MSP increased in eastern states for paddy farmers:
·         In a bid to increase reach of minimum support price (MSP) operations to more farmers and increase procurement of paddy, a policy for engagement of private players in procurement in Eastern States has been formulated this year. Private firms have been allowed to procure paddy from farmers in a cluster, indentified by the respective state government in the states of Assam, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal, where the Food Corporation of India (FCI) does not have a robust procurement mechanism which often forces farmers to go for distress sale. Private firms would deliver custom milled rice (CMR) at the FCI or state government-owned agency godowns.

·         FCI started procurement pulses from farmers at market price and also working on procurement plan for oilseeds to ensure MSP for farmers.

·         In order to have better targeting of “other welfare schemes’ for poor, a committee of ministers set up under the chairmanship of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The Committee not only decided continuation of foodgrain allocation for other welfare schemes but also nutritional support by providing milk and eggs etc under the schemes.

·         The drop in international prices of imported oils was affecting the prices of domestically produced edible oils consequent upon which farmers’ interests were affected. Department of Food and Public Distribution had recommended an increase in the import duty. Accordingly, the import duty on Crude oils increased from existing 7.5% to 12.5% and the import duty on refined oils from existing 15% to 20%. on 17.09.2015

Steps taken to liquidate cane price arrears of farmers
·         The Government has taken several measures to facilitate payment of cane price arrears by infusing liquidity into the sector.

·         To facilitate clearance of cane price arrears of the farmers,  a scheme for extending soft loans to the extent of Rs. 6000 crore to the sugar industry was notified on 23.6.2015. Rs 4047 crore have been disbursed under the scheme. The government also extend period by one year for achieving eligibility under the soft loan scheme and decided to bear the interest subvention cost to the extent of Rs. 600 crore for the extended period. This will extend benefits to larger number of farmers by enabling more mills to avail the benefits of the scheme. It has also been decided that after clearing cane dues of farmers, subsequent balance, if any, will be credited into the mill accounts. This will benefit about 150 additional sugar mills which had proactively liquidated more than 90 percent of their cane dues payable. This would ensure that mills are incentivized for arranging bridge finances for timely clearance of cane dues to farmers. 
·         Direct Subsidy to farmers, Government decided to pay a production linked subsidy of Rs 4.50 per quintal in 2015-16 seasons, to sugar mills to offset the cost of cane and facilitate timely payment of cane price dues of farmers for sugar season 2015-16. A notification in this regard issued on 2.12.2015. Funds released under the scheme shall be directly credited into farmers’ accounts.
·         The export incentive on raw sugar has been increased from Rs 3200/MT to Rs. 4000/MT. Funds have been allocated to support 14 lac MT (LMT) of raw sugar exports as against 7.5 LMT achieved last year. In September 2015 Government also announced quotas for mills and co-operatives for mandatory exports of four million tonne of sugar in 2015-16.
·         The Government has enhanced import duty on sugar from 25% to 40% to discourage imports. Also, to prevent leakages of sugar in the domestic markets, the export obligation period has been reduced from 18 months to 6 months under the Advanced Authorization Scheme.
·         Blending targets under Ethanol Blending Programme scaled up from 5% to 10%.
·         Remunerative prices for Ethanol supplied for blending have been increased to Rs. 49 per liter, a substantial increase over previous years. As a result, the supplies of ethanol for blending have increased from about 32 crore liters per year to 83 crore liters per annum. Excise duties on ethanol supplied for blending in the next sugar season has been waived, to further incentivize ethanol supplies for the blending program. This would further increase the ex mill price of ethanol and help improving liquidity in the industry facilitate payment of cane price arrears.
·         In order to mobilized more funds for various intervention to facilitates liquidation of cane arrear, such as interest subvention based soft loans, export incentives  and production assistance, amendment in the Sugar Cess Act, 1982 introduce in the parliament.
·         As a result of sustain efforts, the cane price arrears which were Rs. 66,003 crore in sugar season of 2014-15 came down to Rs. 5406.24 crore as on December 15, 2015.    

New provisions to promote quality of consumer products and services
·         In order to ensure quality of products and services for common consumer, the Government introduced Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in Parliament to replace 29 years- old BIS Act. The new Bill has been approved by Lok Sabha. In the new Bill provisions have been made for simpler self-certification mechanism, mandatory hallmarking, and product recall and product liability for better compliance to standards.
·         More items concerning health, safety, environment, prevention of deceptive practices, security have been brought under the mandatory certification. Hallmarking of precious metal articles has been made compulsory. To improve “ ease of doing business”, simplified conformity assessment schemes, including self- certification and market surveillance instead of inspectors visiting factories introduced, thereby ending the inspector raj on standards.
·         New provisions proposed will promote harmonious development of standardisation activities, enabling GoI to bring mandatory certifications regime for goods or service considered vital from viewpoint of health, safety, environment, and prevention of deceptive practices. Provision to prevent import of below par products, providing mandatory hallmarking of precious metal articles, increased scope of conformity assessment, and enhancement of penalties and implication of provisions in the Act. The new Bill has also made increased penal provisions for better and more effective compliance and compounding of offence for violations 
·         New Bill provides for recall, including product liability of products not conforming to relevant Indian Standards
·         Registration for manufacturers of electronic products to safeguard consumer / industry against sub-standard imports provided.
·         Under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, steps taken to formulate/upgrade standards on potable water, street food and garbage disposal.

Boost to consumer protection 
·         Consumer Protection Bill 2015 that seeks to simplify and strengthen consumer grievance redressal procedure introduced in the Parliament this tear. Setting up of a Central Protection Authority which will have powers to recall products and initiate class suit against defaulting companies, including e-retailers proposed. E-filing and time bound admission of complaints in consumer courts is another important provision made in the Bill.

·         Joint campaign organised with Heath, Financial Services and other departments for greater consumer awareness.  During the year the Department of Consumer Affairs intensified its multimedia campaign under the banner of Jago Grahak Jago.  With special emphasis on rural areas, tribal areas and North East, the campaign makes consumers aware of their rights/obligations.  Joint campaigns were organized with the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance to focus on specific issues of consumer interests.

·         An inter-ministerial monitoring committee constituted for key sectors that matters to consumers viz Agriculture, Food, Healthcare, Housing, Financial Services and Transport, to facilitate policy coherence and coordinated action on consumer.

·         To tackle the menace of misleading advertisement, a dedicated portal www.gama.gov launched. It enables consumers to register their grievances against misleading advertisements in six key sectors viz. food and agriculture, heath, education, real estate, transport and financial services have included for this purpose. The complaints lodged are taken up with the relevant authorities or the sector regulators and the consumer is informed after the action taken.

·         To provide a host of consumer services under one roof, Grahak Suvidha Kendras launched in six locations: Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Patna and Delhi on March 18, 2015. Such centres will be set up in every State in phased manner.  They will provide guidance to consumers regarding consumer laws, the rights of the consumers, the procedure of approaching Consumer Courts and various other consumer related issues including quality assurance and safety of products.

Measures to ensure availability of essential food items at reasonable prices
In order to ensure availability of essential food items at reasonable prices the Government took flowing decisions recently:

·          5000 Tur imported, decision taken to import 10000 MT more pulses.
·         Decision taken to procure 1.50 lakh MT of pulses for creating buffer stock. Export of edible oil in bulk is prohibited except coconut oil
·         MSP increased for kharif pulse by Rs 275 per qtl for Tur & Urad, and by Rs 250 per qtl for Moong.
·         Ban on export of all pulses, except Kabuli Chana; and Organic Pulses & lentils up to 10,000 MTs
·         Zero import duty extended till 30th September, 2016.
·         States/ UT’s empowered to impose stock limits, on Onion and Pulses to check hoarding and black marketing under EC Act, 1955..
·          Other edible oil in branded consumer pack of up to 5kgs is permitted with MEP of USD 900 per MT w.e.f. 6.2.2015.

Policy initiatives taken for promotion of Plastics Industry

Policy initiatives taken for promotion of Plastics Industry
For the promotion of the Plastic Industry in the country, the Government has taken various industry friendly policy initiatives such as deregulation of the petrochemical sector and allowing 100% FDI under the automatic route to facilitate fresh investments. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has approved a Scheme for setting up of need based Plastic Parks to promote the domestic downstream plastic processing industry. A scheme of setting up “Centres of Excellence (CoEs)” which aims at improving the existing petrochemical technology and research environment in the country and to promote the development of new applications of polymers and plastics, has also been implemented.

Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), an autonomous academic and training institute under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals caters to human resource and training requirements of the plastics and allied industries in the petrochemicals sector through its 23 centres spread across the country which include 05 high Learning Centres located at Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow and Kochi, 11 Diploma Centres at Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Guwahati, Haldia, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mysore, Murthal and Imphal, 01 Vocational Training Centre at Bhubaneswar, 03 Specialized Units viz. Advanced Tooling and Plastics Product Development Centre (ATPDC), Madurai, Advanced Plastics Processing Technology Centre (APPTC), Balasore, Plastic Waste management Centre at Guwahati, 02 R&D Wings at Chennai and Bhubaneswar and Polymer Data Services (PDS) centre at Gurgoan.

Setting up of CIPET centres is a dynamic process based on the demand and growth of plastic industries and requisite infrastructural and financial support of the State Government. During 2015-16, the Government has approved setting up 05 Centres of CIPET at Dharampur (Gujarat), Baddi (HP), Bhopal (MP), Vijayawada (AP) and Hyderabad/Medak (Telangana). Further, Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been signed on 9th July, 2015 for strategic partnership on skill development to facilitate technology and financial collaboration for imparting employability skills in chemicals, petrochemicals and allied sector.

India, world’s top arms importer, reworks policy to make weapons at home

India, world’s top arms importer, reworks policy to make weapons at home

The procurement policy, reviewed about every two years, is due to be published soon, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said recently 
 India’s first defence procurement policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to bolster domestic arms manufacturing in the world’s biggest importer of weapons.
Modi is seeking to modernize the nation’s sometimes poorly equipped forces, curb purchases from abroad and accelerate the development of a defence-industrial complex. The procurement policy, reviewed about every two years, is due to be published soon, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on 18 December.
A study of defence ministry reports offers clues to the policy. They signal a goal of streamlining and quickening weapons acquisition, as Modi takes a firmer stance in security disputes with neighbours China and Pakistan.
Among the probable steps:
-- Selecting private-sector companies as strategic defence contractors. A panel set up by Parrikar recommended in July that India should select local strategic partners in warship, military aircraft, armored vehicle and missile manufacturing. Another committee is deciding selection criteria.
“Under the concept, the government will choose the strategic partners from the private sector, hand-hold them and give them long-term orders,” India’s defence production secretary A. K. Gupta said in New Delhi on 7 December.
-- Easing so-called offset rules. These require foreign manufacturers of larger orders to recycle some of the price paid back to India by getting parts or services from domestic businesses. Companies have said that’s not always feasible for complex weapons. About Rs.29,300 crore of offset contracts are under implementation, defence ministry data shows.
“Offset implementation has been one of the major issues with foreign original equipment manufacturers as far as doing business in India is concerned,” Gupta said. “We’ve undertaken the task of a significant overhauling of the process.”
-- Allowing agents. Companies must deal directly with the government as defence agents are banned under current rules over fears they could boost the scope for graft. That makes it tougher for arms manufacturers without a local office to do business.
The revised procurement policy may allow agents if fees are reasonable and declared, Parrikar said in a November interview with the Press Trust of India. Their role is in the process of being “defined properly,” he was quoted as saying.
Nitin Wakankar, a spokesman for India’s defence ministry, declined to comment as the process of revising the defence procurement procedure is still in progress.
While the revised defence policy could be a “game changer,” fast decision-making is critical for greater participation by private industry in defense, according to Anurag Garg, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers India.
“Strategic partnership is a very positive step in providing demand visibility to credible private sector companies, and will ensure that they are able to invest in capability building in assigned platforms and not hold back due to gross uncertainties and market risks,” Garg said.
Modi has cleared $65 billion of arms purchases since taking power in May 2014, including most recently about $4.5 billion of Russian weapons. Companies ranging from Tata Sons Ltd to Anil Ambani’s Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co. are seeking to benefit from the government’s drive for modernization and more local production

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