Dev Raj Sikka, known as the ‘monsoon man’

Former Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) director Dev Raj Sikka, known as the ‘monsoon man’ for his role in helping scientists develop better prediction systems for India’s rainy season, died on Saturday after a heart attack. He was 85.

Sikka was honoured with the lifetime achievement award by the Indian Meteorological Society (IMD) in December 2016 in recognition of his contribution to Indian meteorology spanning over six decade.

Born in Jhang Maghiana (western Punjab) in Pakistan Sikka joined the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in 1954 before moving to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune, from where he retired as its director.

Over an illustrious career as a weather scientist, Sikka became known for his work on the prediction of monsoon—notoriously erratic in the subcontinent—and tropical meteorology, including extreme weather events.

“His contribution to the field of Indian Monsoon is beyond comparison as he had a pivotal role in various studies that included correlation between the Indian Monsoon and El-Nino, Walker Circulation, extreme weather events and Monsoon studies conducted over Indian Ocean,” Skymet Weather Services said in an obituary published on its website.

“Dev Raj Sikka was the force behind the Monsoon Mission, an India-UK scientific collaboration that aimed at setting up the infrastructure and man-power to improve the prediction at all-time scales. This mission enabled the meteorologists to predict perfect seasonal and extended range prediction system. It also helped to predict better short and medium range prediction system,” it added.

Sikka was also chairman of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) committee on climate change, and chairperson of the Research and Advisory Council of the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast.

Scientists who worked with Sikka described his contribution to monsoon research as unparalleled.

“His contribution towards monsoon research and prediction is immense. He spent his whole life on that. He was an absolute authority on monsoon. When Monsoon Mission was started he whole heartedly supported it. He always had something to contribute,” said former secretary of the union ministry of earth sciences Shailesh Nayak.

“But his best attribute was that he was frank and straightforward. Overall, his contribution in nurturing young talents was amazing. He remained active long after he retired. We have lost a very important person,” added Nayak.

Wastewater key to solving global water crisis: UN

On current trends, the UN Environment Programme forecasts that water demand—for industry, energy and an extra billion people—will increase 50% by 2030

Recycling the world’s wastewater, almost all of which goes untreated, would ease global water shortages while protecting the environment, the United Nations said in a major report Wednesday.

“Neglecting the opportunities arising from improved wastewater management is nothing less than unthinkable,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, one of several UN bodies behind the report issued on World Water Day.

For decades, people have been using fresh water faster than Nature can replace it, contributing in some regions to hunger, disease, conflict and migration. Two-thirds of humanity currently live in zones that experience water scarcity at least one month a year. Half of those people are in China and India.

Last year, the World Economic Forum’s annual survey of opinion leaders identified water crises as the top global risk over the next decade. On current trends, the UN Environment Programme forecasts that water demand—for industry, energy and an extra billion people—will increase 50% by 2030.

Global warming has already deepened droughts in many areas, and the planet will continue to heat up over the course of the century, even under optimistic scenarios.

“There is an absolute necessity to increase water security in order to overcome the challenges brought on by climate change and human influence,” said Benedito Braga, head of the World Water Council, an umbrella grouping of governments, associations and research bodies.

Wastewater—runoff from agriculture, industry and expanding cities, especially in developing nations—is a major part of the problem. That is especially true in poor countries where very little, if any, wastewater is treated or recycled.

High-income nations treat about 70% of the wastewater they generate, a figure that drops to 38% for upper middle-income countries. In low-income nations, only 8% of industrial and municipal wastewater undergoes treatment of any kind.

More than 800,000 people die every year because of contaminated drinking water, and not being able to properly wash their hands. Water-related diseases claim nearly 3.5 million lives annually in Africa, Asia and Latin America—more than the global death toll from AIDS and car crashes combined. Chemicals and nutrients from factories and farms create deadzones in rivers, lakes and coastal waters, and seep into aquifers.

The 200-page World Water Development Report details a four-pronged strategy for transforming wastewater from a problem to a solution, said lead author Richard Connor of UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme. Besides reducing pollution at the source, policy initiatives must shift focus to removing contaminants from wastewater flows, reusing water, and recovering useful by-products, the report concludes.

“Up to now, decision makers have mainly focused on supplying clean water rather than managing it after it has been used,” Connor told journalists. “The two aspects are inextricably linked.”

Water can be used over and over, he added, pointing to the fact that water from several major rivers in the United States is recycled up to 20 times before reaching the ocean. The potential for reusing liquid waste is perhaps best illustrated by astronauts on the International Space Station who drink recycled urine and use it to wash up.

On a larger scale, there are many nations where necessity has spawned innovative technologies. In Singapore and the southern California coastal city of San Diego, residents already drink recycled water.

In Jordan and Israel, 90% and 50% of agricultural water, respectively, has been recovered for reuse, according to the report. Besides being recycled, wastewater “can also be a rich source of nutrients, minerals and energy—all of which can be cost-effectively extracted,” said Guy Ryder, chair of UN-Water, and head of the International Labour Organization.

These are the same elements, he added, that cause terrible damage when untreated wastewater is released into the environment. Harvesting phosphorus, for example, from urine—supplied by urine-diverting toilets—reduces wastewater’s nutrient load. Already in use in Australia, China and Japan, these systems can be easily scaled up. More than a fifth of global phosphorus demand worldwide could be met by recycled human urine and feces, according to a recent study.

Waste can also be converted into fuel. A 2015 law in Japan requires sewage operators to use biosolids as a carbon-neutral form of energy. The city of Osaka produces 6,500 tonnes of fuel per year from 43,000 tonnes of wet sewage sludge for electricity generation.

Why India needs a new logistics network

An integrated multi-modal approach is necessary for reaping the benefits of GST and Make In India

One of the central promises of the new goods and services tax (GST) that is set to be rolled out in July is that it will allow companies to restructure their supply chains once the domestic market is truly integrated. It is hard to see how the production structure can be improved radically unless India builds a new logistics network to allow inputs, components and finished goods to move across the country seamlessly. The success of the flagship Make in India programme is also critically dependent on a modern logistics network.

The man who will have to put in the plumbing necessary for it all to work is Union road transport and highways, shipping and ports minister Nitin Gadkari.

In his last budget speech, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said: “An effective multi-modal logistics and transport sector will make our economy more competitive. A specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi-modal transport facilities, will be drawn up and implemented.” This programme—talked up by Gadkari last week—aims to shift from India’s current point-to-point logistics model to a hub-and-spoke model. This will entail setting up 35 multi-modal logistics parks at a cost of Rs50,000 crore, developing 50 economic corridors and inviting investment from the states and private sector. Crucially, this will all be done with an integrated approach that will utilize railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to create a transportation grid that covers the country.

It is an ambitious plan and a necessary one for multiple reasons. For one, efficient transportation and logistics are important for boosting India’s competitiveness. They reduce transport time and costs, of course—but they also reduce cost of production by minimizing the need for large inventories. This means less capital required for warehouses, insurance and the like. Second, while the conventional view of demand in the logistics sector states that it is derived demand, growth in transport and logistics enterprises can create markets for other goods. Third, efficient logistics networks can reduce divergence in regional growth. Fourth, as the last Economic Survey points out, inter-state trade flows in India stand at a healthy 54% of GDP. Reducing friction via improved logistics could boost this. And lastly, while the demand for transport grew at around 10% annually in the 1990s, it has accelerated since. Failing to keep pace will hamstring everything from the manufacturing push and attempts to boost farmer earnings to the benefits of urban agglomeration economies.

The main hurdle so far has been that India’s logistics and transport sector has developed in silos. This has resulted in overly complex regulation and administrative procedures as well as missing modal links and an inefficient modal mix. As of 2008, the mix was 50% of total freight flow via roads, 36% by rail, 7.5% by pipelines, 6% by coastal shipping, 0.2% by inland waterways and 0.01% by airways. The ratios may have shifted somewhat since then but they are unlikely to have changed substantially. This is a pity: Transport by rail and inland waterways is far more cost- and time-efficient than transport by roads, for instance, and should account for high proportions of the freight flow.

Gadkari’s integrated policy is thus essential, pulling together the Narendra Modi government’s planned road and rail dedicated freight corridors and suggesting a solution to the long-running lack of last-mile connectivity for India’s ports. It also offers more scope for boosting the use of technology than development in silos would. Containerization, for instance—shipping freight across modes in standard containers—would enable live tracking via chipped containers. This in turn would enable greater security and predictability, as well as providing the granular data that is important for business projections and policymaking alike.

An integrated multi-modal policy is not a new idea. In 2014, the national transport development policy committee had written in its report to the erstwhile Planning Commission that India should have “a single unified ministry with a clear mandate to deliver a multi-modal transport system that contributes to the country’s larger development goals”—standard operating procedure for other large economies and India’s major emerging economy peers. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is now looking to deliver on the multi-modal aspect of that recommendation. But it should not lose sight of the unified ministry goal. The BJP’s electoral dominance, and thus reduced reliance upon coalition partners, gives it more scope to consolidate the clutter of ministries gumming up the works—across sectors—than any government has had in decades.

And here’s a thought. This is an opportunity for states to compete for hosting the logistics hubs and reaping the economic benefits. Will it be Nagpur and Varanasi that dominate the network or cities in centrally placed Madhya Pradesh or entrepreneurial Gujarat? The Modi government has made competitive federalism a plank of its economic agenda. This is a chance to see it in action.

Should the Modi government create a unified transport ministry?

India’s water governance regime is crying for reforms

The International Water Day serves as an annual reminder of the mess in management of water resources

In an intriguing order on 20 March, the Uttarakhand High Court has recognized the rivers Ganges and Yamuna as a living entity, which means that anybody found polluting the river would be seen as harming a human being. It remains to be seen what impact the order has but the order does reflect a sense of urgency in trying to rescue one of India’s most important rivers from rampant pollution.

India’s water woes however do not end with the pathetic state of the Ganges. After two consecutive rainfall deficient years, 2016 saw normal monsoons in India. However, a look at reservoir levels shows that even a normal rainfall year is failing to sufficiently recharge our water bodies. Nowhere in the country are reservoir levels significantly more than half of their total capacity.

What is even more worrying is the long-term trend: there seems to have been a secular decline in reservoir levels. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy shows that last 10 years’ average live storage as percentage of live capacity at full reservoir level has fluctuated between 25-33% in this decade. Between 2001-02 and 2004-05 this value was always more than 60%. This seems to be a result of increasing exploitation of ground water. The rate of withdrawal of groundwater as a percentage of net groundwater available per year—defined as level of ground water development—has seen a sharp increase between 2004 and 2011. While states such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu registered some improvement, traditional farming states such as Punjab and Haryana have witnessed rising exploitation of groundwater resources.

The proportion of farmers dependent on ground-water irrigation has risen sharply over the past couple of decades, and lax regulation on water use, lopsided price incentives, and high energy subsidies to farmers have encouraged relentless exploitation of groundwater through borewells in order to water farmlands. As a two-part data journalism series published in Mint last year showed, the inefficient use of water in agriculture is the main source of inefficiency in India’s water governance regime. India’s farms consume more water to grow same amount of crops compared to global averages. What makes this even worse is the fact that despite being a water-scarce country, our agricultural exports are extremely water intensive .

While the farm sector is an obvious candidate for urgent water reforms, non-farm use of water also suffers from unplanned usage and waste. A majority of India’s households are dependent on ground water for their day to day water requirements. According to the 2011 census, less than half the households with access to water supply in their premises depend on treated tap-water. This means that a majority of India’s households are using private means (such as bore-wells) to extract groundwater without any regulation or concern for conservation. Unplanned urbanisation will only accentuate this problem. The fast depletion of ground-water resources will also increase the risks of contamination, as several experts have warned.

It is not these concerns have not been taken note of. A 2015 report of the Standing Committee on Water Resources noted the rapid depletion of groundwater resources in the key granaries of the country and the lack of up-to-date and comprehensive data on India’s water resources which is hindering effective water management.

In July 2016, a committee under the chairpersonship of Mihir Shah, an economist and a former Planning Commission member, submitted a report on restructuring the Central Water Commission and Central Ground Water Board which criticized India’s water governance framework for a complete lack of coordination and clarity. It argued that official estimates suggesting adequacy of water resources in India seem dodgy when compared with independent studies which are based on internationally comparable evapotranspiration rates (sum of water lost to atmosphere due to evaporation and transpiration via plants). The report also criticized India’s existing water-governance system as silo-based which views ground water, river basin rejuvenation and other such challenges as isolated tasks. Even these tasks are being ill-managed thanks to a human resource crunch in key bodies such as the Central Ground Water Board, the report pointed out.

The sorry state of water governance in India is a result of both state and market failure. Every rice farmer in Punjab, who is over-exploiting ground water to grow rice (with guaranteed procurement by the Food Corporation of India) is undermining a public good to maximise his private gain as he does not have to pay the cost for doing so (the society at large bears the cost). The state failure lies not just in instituting the wrong incentives but also in mismanagement of water systems. The Shah Committee report has highlighted how the huge amount of water collected in government reservoirs is not available to farmers for use in various parts of the country. Unless the mismanagement of water resources is addressed and disincentives put in place to prevent over-exploitation of water, India is likely to witness rising water-related crises and conflicts in the years to come.

India to launch GSLV Mark-III in another two months:

India is going to launch GSLV Mark-III, the country’s most powerful launch vehicle, in another two months, senior space scientist and ex-programme director of ISRO professor T.G.K. Murthy said on Friday.
“In another two months, we are going to launch GSLV Mark-III. We are going to launch four satellites from the Indian soil in the near future,” Murthy told PTI on the sidelines of a three-day international conference on ‘Advances in Science and Technology’ in Kolkata.
ISRO has been successful in testing the high-thrust cryogenic technology for use in the launch vehicle, GSLV Mark-III, the space scientist said. The ISRO will also launch the SAARC satellite this month, to give member countries all the benefits as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.
Besides, India will launch a satellite to study the sun and global climate change, Murthy said, adding it will be named Aditya-L1 and weigh 400 kg, carrying one payload.
Pointing out that the Indian space mission has “wide-ranging applications and wide-ranging facilities”, he said, adding 90% of the technology application materials being used by ISRO have been made indigenously.
He said the space department in combination with academics and industry start-ups was working to meet the growing demand in several areas including weather. “India is going to take 10-15% share of the global space market”, and ISRO is having global customers as our research occupy pre-eminence in the world, he said.
Murthy also referred to India’s first private mission to the moon. “We will have a private rocket for the first time in the moon. Our scientists are working on challenges like capsule re-entry, safety conditions and it promises to be one for the history books,” he said at the conference that was hosted by a private engineering institute.
Addressing young scientists and researchers, Director General of National Council of Science Museum (NCSM) A.S. Manekar said in his speech that role of teachers was to impart knowledge to students, who must work for the development of the society. He underscored the need for sustained research to facilitate science and technology work for the betterment of future for mankind.

Jal Marg Vikas Project

Jal Marg Vikas Project

The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on NW-1 is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank.  The Project entails development of fairway with 3 meters depth between Varanasi and Haldia (Phase-I) covering a distance of 1380 km at an estimated cost of Rs. 5369 crore with target for completion in six years. The following sub-projects of this Project have commenced:

(i)    Construction of Phase – I (A) of the multimodal terminal at Varanasi at a cost of Rs. 169.70 crore.
(ii)    Construction of Phase – I of the multimodal terminal at Sahibganj at a cost of Rs. 280.90 crore.
(iii)     Construction of new navigation lock at Farakka at a cost of Rs. 359.19 crore.
          IWAI has raised Rs. 340 crore through issue of Government of India fully serviced bonds during 2016-17 for implementation of infrastructure projects on inland waterways including JMVP.

           Projects worth Rs.1871.56 crore for development of National Waterways have been implemented till March 2016 from the inception of IWAI in October, 1986.   National Waterway-1 (NW-1), NW-2 & NW-3 have been developed for shipping and navigation during this period.

Counter-Terrorism Conference

Union Home Minister’s speech at Counter-Terrorism Conference

Following is the text of the speech delivered by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh at the Counter Terrorism Conference organized here today:

“मैं, देश के सामने उत्‍पन्‍न चुनौतियों और अवसरों पर अपने स्‍वतंत्र विश्‍लेषण के लिए India Foundation द्वारा 3^rd Counter-Terrorism Conference-2017 के आयोजन पर आप सभी को हार्दिक बधाई देता हूँ ।

विश्‍व के ज्‍वलंत और समसामयिक मुद्दों पर देश में जागरूकता फैलाने का आपका यह कार्य सराहनीय है।

India Foundation ने हाल के कुछ वर्षों में देश ही नहीं अपितु समग्र विश्‍व के लिए खतरा बन चुके आतंकवाद जैसे गंभीर मुद्दे पर चर्चा की शुरूआत की। आपका यह सफर वर्ष 2015 में Pink City जयपुर से शुरू होकर आज 3^rd Counter Terrorism Conference, दिल्‍ली तक पहुंच गया है। मैं, इस पहल के लिए आपका धन्‍यवाद करता हूँ।

इस Conference में चर्चा का विषय ‘TERRORISM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION’ रहा है। इस महत्‍वपूर्ण विषय पर भारत ही नहीं बल्कि अन्‍य देशों से पधारे Counter Terror Strategy Specialists के बीच आपसी विचार-विमर्श हुआ। मेरा विश्‍वास है कि इस सेमिनार में शामिल policy makers और security experts द्वारा OCEAN BORDERS SECURITY से संबंधित विभिन्‍न विषयों पर  विचार-विमर्श से आतंकवाद जैसे गंभीर वैश्विक-संकट से निपटने के लिए बहुआयामी विधाओं का सृजन हुआ होगा।

भौगोलिक रूप से, भारत एक दिशा में हिमालय की पर्वत श्रेणियों और तीन दिशाओं में समुद्री क्षेत्र से घिरा है जिनमें Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean और Arabian Sea सहित 7516.6 किलोमीटर लंबी Maritime Boundary है। इन तीनों समुद्री क्षेत्रों में Indian Ocean दुनिया का तीसरा सबसे बड़ा समुद्रीय क्षेत्र है।

विश्‍व की आबादी का लगभग 1/3 भाग IOR में है, जिसमें 25% landmass, 40% energy resources हैं और यह विश्‍व के अति महत्‍वपूर्ण 50% Container traffic movement में support करता है।

 Indian Ocean के किनारे अत्‍यंत महत्‍वपूर्ण तेल व गैस भंडारों और Global Trade में लगभग 30 प्रतिशत माल आवाजाही के कारण भारतीय महासागरीय क्षेत्र (IOR) का व्‍यापक global strategic महत्‍व है। Indian Ocean Region (IOR) में East-Western Maritime Trade Corridor मुख्‍यत: Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb (West) Straits, Malacca Straits (East) जैसे महत्‍वपूर्ण स्‍थलों से गुजरता है। इन स्‍थलों से विश्‍व के 60 प्रतिशत तेल का आवागमन होने के कारण, ये विशेष संवेदनशील हैं।

भारत के व्‍यापार का 90 प्रतिशत तथा ऊर्जा आवश्‍यकता का 70 प्रतिशत का परिवहन Indian Ocean के माध्‍यम से होता है, जिसके लिए कच्‍चे माल एवं तेल आपूर्ति जैसे महत्‍वपूर्ण सामानों को लाने ले जाने के लिए प्रतिवर्ष 40 हजार से अधिक जहाज आते-जाते हैं। इसलिए इस समुद्री मार्ग की safety एवं security भारत के लिए सर्वाधिक महत्‍वपूर्ण है।

पांच दशकों से अधिक समय से विश्‍व-भर में Anti-Castro rebels, पुर्तगाली, अंगोलियाई, फिलिस्तीनी, श्रीलंकाई तमिल, फिलिपिनों एवं आइरिश विद्रोहियों तथा अलकायदा व लश्‍कर-ए-तैय्यबा जैसे कई rebel और terrorist groups द्वारा किए गए विभिन्‍न प्रकार के Maritime Terrorism का प्रभाव देखा गया है।

वर्ष 2002 में फ्रांसीसी टैंकर पर हमला और अक्‍तूबर, 2007 में USS Cole पर अलकायदा का हमला जैसी अनेक प्रमुख आतंकवादी घटनाएं हाल ही के कुछ वर्षों में Indian Ocean Region में घटित हुई हैं।

इसके अलावा हमने भी sea-routes से किए जा रहे terrorist attacks को झेला है फिर चाहे वह 12 मार्च, 1993 को मुंबई में श्रृंखलाबद्ध बम-धमाकों की बात हो जिसमें उपयोग किया जाने वाला explosives एवं ammunition को गुजरात एवं महाराष्‍ट्र तक Sea-routes से ही भेजा गया था या 26/11/2008 की घटना हो जिसे मुंबई में पाकिस्‍तान  प्रशिक्षित आतंकवादियों ने अंजाम दिया।  

समु्द्री मार्गों का प्रयोग कर LeT द्वारा अपने कॉडरों की घुसपैठ कराने के संबंध में लगातार इनपुट मिलते रहे हैं। Extremist terror group Islamic State of Iraq और Syria (ISIS) के बढ़ते हुए प्रभाव के कारण West Asia और North Africa (WANA) के निकटवर्ती जल-क्षेत्रों में maritime terrorism की संभावना से इन्‍कार नहीं किया जा सकता।

Horn of Africa के पास से organized piracy activities प्राथमिक रूप से सोमालिया एवं Gulf of Aden के आस-पास के क्षेत्र से जुड़ी हुई हैं और Arabian Peninsula में Al-Qaeda (AQ-AP) की गतिविधियों से प्रेरित होकर ISIS अपने गढ़ यमन में maritime risk बन सकते हैं। International Targets पर हमला करने के उद्देश्‍य से AQ-AP Gulf of Aden के उस पार अल-सह-बाब जैसे संगठनों से अपने संपर्क बढ़ाने का प्रयास कर सकता है। 

मैं आपको बताना चाहता हूँ कि Coastal security के संबंध में भारत बिलकुल सतर्क है एवं भारत सरकार ने देश की Coastal security को और अधिक सुदृढ़ करने और खतरों व खामियों के continuously review के लिए effective mechanism की स्‍थापना के साथ-साथ अन्‍य  Comprehensive Measures किए हैं।

Indian Ocean से भारत सहित 36 देशों की तटीय सीमाएं लगी हुई है। समुद्री रास्‍तों से व्‍यापार व अन्‍य आर्थिक गतिविधियों को सुरक्षित और सुविधाजनक बनाने तथा maritime domains की safety और protection सुनिश्चित करने के लिए भारत सहित इस क्षेत्र के देशों को एक साथ मिलकर काम करने की आवश्‍यकता है:-

इसके लिए सबसे पहले United Nations Organization द्वारा आतंकवाद की comprehensive definition को स्‍वीकार करने की आवश्‍यकता है और ऐसे देश, जो इस परिभाषा की परिधि का उल्‍लंघन करते हैं, को यदि आवश्‍यक हो तो दंडित किया जाए और ostracized भी किया जाए।

आतंकवाद की Comprehensive definition में State Support Groups को भी शामिल किया जाए। ऐसे देश जो लगातार सक्रिय रूप से ऐसे समूहों को समर्थन दे रहे हैं, एवं प्रायोजित कर रहे हैं उन्‍हें United Nations द्वारा स्‍वीकार किए गए इस Comprehensive definition की परिधि में लाया जाए।

‘State Sponsored Terrorism’ की पहचान एवं उसे अलग-थलग करने में असफल रहना निश्‍चय ही ऐसे समूहों के लिए सबसे महत्‍वपूर्ण encouraging factor होंगे जो ऐसे राज्‍यों से समर्थन प्राप्‍त करते रहे हैं।

Ocean Region में आतंकवाद पर सहयोग को केवल सम्‍मेलन तथा अन्‍य कार्यक्रम का आयोजन अथवा इस पर केवल बयानबाजी तक ही सीमित नहीं होना चाहिए।

इसके बजाय, concrete measures किए जाने एवं strong mechanism स्‍थापित करने की आवश्‍यकता है, जिसके माध्‍यम से सहयोगी देशों एवं क्षेत्रों के बीच information का constant flow संभव हो सके।

जैसा कि आप सभी अवगत होंगे इस दिशा में आगे बढ़ते हुए Indian Ocean क्षेत्र में आतंकवाद से लड़ने के लिए Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) द्वारा कुछ दिनों पहले जकार्ता में प्रथम शिखर सम्‍मेलन का आयोजन किया गया। Indian Ocean क्षेत्र के सभी    36 देशों में से 21 देश इस Association में शामिल हुए है। अमेरिका, चीन, जापान, ब्रिटेन, फ्रांस, जर्मनी और मिस्र इस संघ के वार्ता साझेदार है। इस शिखर सम्‍मेलन में भारत की ओर से हमारे देश के उप-राष्‍ट्रपति महोदय ने भाग लिया, जिसमें उन्‍होंने स्‍पष्‍ट किया कि State Sponsored Terrorism को किसी भी रूप स्‍वीकार नहीं किया जाना चाहिए तथा आतंकवाद को बढ़ावा देने और उसे आर्थिक प्रश्रय प्रदान करने वाले राष्‍ट्रों को अलग-थलग किए जाने की आवश्‍यकता है।

Indian Ocean Region बहुत व्‍यापक है। Aerial Satellite तथा Communication monitoring द्वारा technical competence को बढ़ाए जाने की आवश्‍यकता है। किसी जहाज या Craft, जिसको Hijack किया गया या आतंकवादी समूहों द्वारा उपयोग किया जा रहा है, की सैटेलाइट के माध्‍यम से निगरानी की जा सकती है और उसके सही ठिकाने को ढूंढा जा सकता है।

Indian Ocean region में piracy की स्थिति के कारण आतंकवाद का मुद्दा जटिल हो सकता है। Piracy activities को कुछ हद तक नियंत्रित किया गया है, फिर भी ये उन कारणों से सिर उठा सकते हैं, जिनका समाधान नहीं किया जा सका है।

यहाँ यह उल्‍लेख करना महत्‍वपूर्ण है कि विगत समय में कुछ आतंकवादी संगठनों द्वारा आतंकवादी घटनाओं को अंजाम देने के लिए pirates के इस्‍तेमाल की कोशिश भी की जा चुकी है।

Sea robbers को नियंत्रित करने में एक और महत्‍वपूर्ण उपाय ‘Floating Armories’ का उपयोग किया जाना है। इन ‘’Floating Armories’’ को मुख्‍य रूप से सोमा‍लिया तट पर marine naval crafts की sea pirates से रक्षा के लिए तैयार किया गया है।  

विश्‍व के लगभग 90% सामान का आवागमन Cargo Containers के माध्‍यम से किया जाता है। इन Containers को आतंकवादियों द्वारा use किए जाने की संभावना है। इसलिए international shipping की संवेदनशीलता जाँच के दायरे में आ गई है। अकेले भारत में ही हमारे Containers  बन्‍दरगाहों द्वारा वर्ष 2015-16 में लगभग 12 मिलियन Ton Equivalent Units की handling की गई है।

Container Security की परिकल्‍पना multi-phased परियोजना के रूप में की गई है। जो USA  की container security initiative पर आधारित है।

      इन तथ्‍यों को ध्‍यान में रखते हुए हमें thoroughly debate एवं discussion करना है तथा अपने लक्ष्‍यों को प्राप्‍त करने के लिए time-bound implementation हेतु कार्य-योजना बनानी है।

मैं अपने देश की विभिन्‍न सुरक्षा एजेंसियों से भी कहना चाहूँगा कि एक-दूसरे के साथ synergy और better inter operability कायम करना सबसे ज्‍़यादा महत्‍वपूर्ण है। हमारी यह भी कोशिश बनी रहेगी कि हम उन स्थितियों से कारगर ढ़ंग से निपटें, जो आतंक को फैलाने में मदद करती हैं। आज हमें आतंकवादियों के इन परिस्थितियों का इस्तेमाल करने से रोकने और उनका डटकर मुकाबला करने की भी जरूरत है। हमें आतंकवाद का कारगर ढ़ंग से मुकाबला करने के लिए first responders की Anti-Terrorism Capacity को और सशक्‍त करने की जरूरत है।

एक बार फिर India Foundation को इस कार्यक्रम का आयोजन करने के लिए बधाई देता हूँ। इस conference में Indian Ocean को सुरक्षित बनाने के लिए राष्‍ट्र-प्रमुखों, बुद्ध‍जीवियों और विचारकों, सेना और पुलिस के सुरक्षा‍ विशेषज्ञों द्वारा अपने अनुभव और ज्ञान को साझा किया गया। मुझे यह विश्‍वास है कि नीति-निर्माताओं और सुरक्षा एजेन्सियों द्वारा इनके अनुभव और ज्ञान का समुचित रूप से उपयोग किया जाएगा। हम मैत्रीपूर्ण देशों के प्रतिभागियों और विभिन्‍न गणमान्‍य व्‍यक्तियों को भी यह भरोसा दिलाना चाहेंगे कि आतंकवाद के खिलाफ लड़ाई में भारत अंतर्राष्‍ट्रीय समुदाय के साथ दृढ़ता से खड़ा है।