THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1.THE EXCLUSION OF RUSSIA FROM SWIFT

THE CONTEXT: The U.S., Europe and several other western nations are moving to exclude Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an international network for banks to facilitate smooth money transactions globally. This could be the strongest economic sanction against Russia over its military moves in Ukraine, as it will potentially cut off the country from receiving international payments.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is SWIFT?

SWIFT is a messaging network used by banks and financial institutions globally for quick and faultless exchange of information pertaining to financial transactions. The Belgium-headquartered SWIFT connects more than 11,000 banking and securities organizations in over 200 countries and territories.

Each participant on the platform is assigned a unique eight-digit SWIFT code or a bank identification code (BIC).

EXAMPLE:

If a person,in New York with a Citibank account, wants to send money to someone with an HSBC account in London, the payee would have to submit to his bank, the London-based beneficiary’s account number along with the eight-digit SWIFT code of the latter’s bank. Citi would then send a SWIFT message to HSBC. Once that is received and approved, the money would be credited to the required account.

SWIFT is merely a platform that sends messages and does not hold any securities or money. It provides standardised and reliable communication to facilitate the transaction.

What happens if one is excluded from SWIFT?

If a country is excluded from the most participatory financial facilitating platform, its foreign funding would take a hit, making it entirely reliant on domestic investors. This is particularly troublesome when institutional investors are constantly seeking new markets in newer territories.

An alternative system would be cumbersome to build and even more difficult to integrate with an already expansive system. SWIFT, first used in 1973, went live in 1977 with 518 institutions from 22 countries.

Are any countries excluded from SWIFT?

Certain Iranian banks were ousted from the system in 2018 despite resistance from several countries in Europe.

How is the organization governed?

• SWIFT claims to be neutral. Its shareholders, consisting of 3,500 firms across the globe, elect the 25-member board, which is responsible for oversight and management of the company.
• It is regulated by G-10 central banks of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, and Sweden, alongside the European Central Bank. Its lead overseer is the National Bank of Belgium.
• The SWIFT oversight forum was established in 2012. The G-10 participants were joined by the central banks of India, Australia, Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, the Republic of Turkey, and the People’s Republic of China.

2. EXERCISE EASTERN BRIDGE -VI

THE CONTEXT: The Indo-Oman exercise, Eastern Bridge-VI (2022) was successfully conducted at Air Force Station Jodhpur. Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) participated with Indian Air Force (lAF) in the exercise which was aimed at providing operational exposure and undertaking mutual exchange of best practices, towards enhancing operational capabilities of both the Air Forces.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It was aimed at providing operational exposure and undertaking mutual exchange of best practices, towards enhancing operational capabilities of both the Air Forces.
• According to the Defense Ministry stated that both sides discussed further prospects of mutual co-operation. The exercise provided an opportunity for fruitful interaction between IAF and RAFO elements through mutual exchange of experience and operational knowledge. It also provided avenues of cultural exchanges between the personnel of both countries.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

3. EXPLAINED: WHAT IS MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE INSTITUTIONS?

THE CONTEXT: The National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country’s largest equities and derivatives exchange, was fined for laxity in governance pertaining to actions taken during the tenure of its former MD and CEO Chitra Ramakrishna.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are MIIs?

• Stock exchanges, depositories and clearing houses are all Market Infrastructure Institutions and constitute a key part of the nation’s vital economic infrastructure.
• A panel set up under the chairmanship of former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan — to examine issues arising from the ownership and governance of MIIs — in its 2010 report said: “The term ‘infrastructure’ would mean the basic, underlying framework or features of a system; and the term ‘market infrastructure’ denotes such fundamental facilities and systems serving this market. The primary purpose of securities /capital market is to enable allocation/reallocation of capital/financial resources.”
• Such movement, it pointed out, helped optimal use of money in the economy and fostered economic development. Well-functioning MIIs, constitute “the nucleus of (the) capital allocation system”, are indispensable for economic growth and have a net positive effect on society like any other infrastructure institution, the panel noted.

Why are they considered to be systemically important?

• According to the Jalan committee, MIIs are systemically important in India is clear from the phenomenal growth of these institutions in terms of market capitalisation of listed companies, capital raised and the number of investor accounts with brokers and depositories and the value of assets held in the depositories’ account.
• Unlike typical financial institutions, the number of stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations in an economy is limited due to the nature of its business, although they cater to the entire marketplace.
• “Any failure of such an MII could lead to even bigger cataclysmic collapses that may result in an overall economic downfall that could potentially extend beyond the boundaries of the securities market and the country.”

What are the specific institutions in India that qualify as MIIs?

Among stock exchanges, the SEBI lists seven, including the BSE, the NSE, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India and the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India. There are two depositories — charged with the safekeeping of securities and enabling their trading and transfer — that are tagged MIIs: the Central Depository Services Ltd. and the National Securities Depository Ltd.

4. RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT HITS SUNFLOWER OIL IMPORTS

THE CONTEXT: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has jolted the crude oil market around the world and that is poised to raise petrol and diesel prices in India as well. However, that is not the only issue India has to face because of this geopolitical conflict.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India, which heavily depends on edible oil imports to fulfil its requirement. Nearly 93 per cent of India’s sunflower seeds oil imports are sourced only from Ukraine and Russia.Indian traders have contracted 5.5 lakh tonnes sunflower oil from Ukraine, Russia, most of which is stuck.
• Traders of India, the largest importer of sunflower oil at 60 per cent of its total needs, have contracted around 5.5 lakh tonnes of sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia in February and March,of this, 1.8 lakh tonnes have left but the fate of the rest of the shipments remains uncertain.
• India’s total imports of edible oils surged to a record ₹1.17 lakh crore in 2020-21 marketing year (November to October) from almost ₹72,000 crore in the previous year due to a sharp rise in global prices.
• According to the Department of Food and Public Distribution,the total quantity of oils imported, palm oils constitute around 54 per cent and are imported mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. Soybean oil constitutes around 25 per cent and is imported from Argentina and Brazil.
• It is to be noted that the effective rate of duty on crude palm oil is 35.75 per cent while that on soybean and sunflower oil is 38.5 per cent.
• Consumer food prices had risen the fastest in January (2022) in the past over a year, which has affected the household budgets. This has happened despite the government cutting taxes and imposing limits on the stocking of cooking oil.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. THE LARGEST BACTERIUM EVER DISCOVERED

THE CONTEXT: Scientists discovered an absolutely massive bacterium that can be seen without the aid of a microscope and lurks among the mangroves of Grande-Terre in the Caribbean.

THE EXPLANATION:

Most species of bacteria measure between one and five micrometers long, but the biggest previously known was Thiomargarita namibiensis, which tops out at 750 micrometers or 0.75 mm. But this newly identified species blows everything else out of the water – its average length is a whopping 9,000 micrometers (0.9 cm/0.4 in), with the largest recorded specimen reaching 2 cm. This single cell is longer than your everyday housefly.

The organism was actually first discovered about a decade ago, as bundles of white filaments growing on decaying mangrove leaves in a Caribbean swamp. But at the time, its discoverer, marine biologist Olivier Gros, didn’t realize they were bacteria, let alone single cells. That identification only came more recently, with detailed analysis.

Its physical size isn’t the only giant thing about this bacterium. Genetic analysis revealed that its genome is also massive, containing 11 million bases and around 11,000 genes, which is almost three times larger than most bacterial genomes. On closer inspection, the team found that the genome is quite repetitive, with more than half a million copies of certain sequences.

Value Addition:

Few Important Facts about Bacteria.

• Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms that exist in their millions, in every environment, both inside and outside other organisms.
• Some bacteria are harmful, but most serve a useful purpose. They support many forms of life, both plant and animal, and they are used in industrial and medicinal processes.

Types of Bacteria:

Spherical: Bacteria shaped like a ball are called cocci, and a single bacterium is a coccus. Examples include the streptococcus group, responsible for “strep throat.”

Rod-shaped: These are known as bacilli (singular bacillus). Some rod-shaped bacteria are curved. These are known as vibrio. Examples of rod-shaped bacteria include Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis), or anthrax.

Spiral: These are known as spirilla (singular spirillus). If their coil is very tight they are known as spirochetes. Leptospirosis, Lyme disease, and syphilis are caused by bacteria of this shape.

Where do they live?

• Bacteria can be found in soil, water, plants, animals, radioactive waste, deep in the earth’s crust, arctic ice and glaciers, and hot springs. There are bacteria in the stratosphere, between 6 and 30 miles up in the atmosphere, and in the ocean depths, down to 32,800 feet or 10,000 meters deep.
• Aerobes, or aerobic bacteria, can only grow where there is oxygen. Some types can cause problems for the human environment, such as corrosion, fouling, problems with water clarity, and bad smells.
• Anaerobes, or anaerobic bacteria, can only grow where there is no oxygen. In humans, this is mostly in the gastrointestinal tract. They can also cause gas, gangrene, tetanus, botulism, and most dental infections.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

6. THE OMBUDSPERSON APP FOR MGNREGS

THE CONTEXT: TheUnion Ministry for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, launched Ombudsperson App for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.According to the Ombudsperson App is a step towards e-governance, this will be helpful in ensuring transparency and accountability.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Ministry has developed an Ombudsperson App for smooth reporting and categorization of grievances by Ombudsperson based on complaints he received from various sources viz. physical, digital and mass media, related to the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREG Scheme in the States/UTs.
• At present, the reporting of complaints, passing awards and disposal of complaints are in physical form. This will strengthen Ombudsperson in the discharge of her/his duty in a hassle-free manner. After joining of Ombudsperson, the Registration of Ombudsperson is done by the State. On registration, Ombudsperson will use the Username and password to use this App.
• Also, it will enable easy tracking and timely passing of awards by Ombudsperson on each case as per the guidelines. Ombudsperson can also easily upload the quarterly and annual reports on the website through the app.
• The app will help the ombudsperson to a greater extent in discharging her/his duty towards transparency and accountability. Also, smooth disposal of the grievances in a time-bound manner with minimal support of further human resources will be possible through the app.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY 28^TH FEBRUARY 2022

Q. Consider the following statements with reference to SWIFT:

1. It is a messaging network used by banks and financial institutions globally.
2. It headquarter is in Paris.
3. It is merely a platform that sends messages and does not hold any securities or money.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 26^TH FEB 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875. A few years later the headquarters of the Arya Samaj were established at Lahore.

Main principles and objectives of the Arya Samaj are as follows:

1. Believes in infallibility of Vedas and takes them as only truth and source of all source all knowledge. Believed that post-vedic texts such as Puranas were responsible for pollution of Vedic religion.
2. Opposes the idol-worship and reincarnation theory of God but accepts the doctrine of ‘Karma’ and transmigration of soul. Dayanand also rejected the theory of destiny / fate (Niyati).
3. Believes in one God who has no physical existence.
4. Rejects Brahmanical dominance of spiritual and social life of Hindus. Denounces claim of Brahmins as intermediaries between man and God.
5. Supported Four Varna System but the Varna system should be based on merit not birth. Hindu religion gives everyone an equal place in the spiritual and social life.
6. Advocated equal status for women in the society. There is no room for any kind of discrimination against women on the basis of gender.
7. Advocated widow remarriage, female education and opposed polygamy, child marriage, Sati, etc.
8. Backed propagation of Hindi and Sanskrit. Considered good education as base of a goodNand solid social system. It did phenomenal work in the field of education even for women.
9. Denounces socio-religious evils such as animal sacrifices, religious pilgrimages, feeding the dead through sraddhas, magic and charms etc. According to Swami Dayanand, these evils exist in the society due to ignorance of the teaching of the Vedas.

1. Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation READ MORE
2. Mental health needs more than medicine READ MORE  

1. Save the world from war, spread meditativeness READ MORE
2. Leo Tolstoy’s Law of Love READ MORE
3. Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation READ MORE

1. Tackling the plastic problem: The UN Environment Assembly meet could finalise a way forward for global cooperation in reducing plastic consumption READ MORE
2. India: We May Have Overestimated How Much Carbon Our Forests Can Hold READ MORE

1. No quick fix: India must not allow mushrooming of medical colleges without trained faculty, infrastructure READ MORE
2. Liberalise, do not bureaucratise READ MORE
3. Too many IAS chief secretaries, not enough posts — Indian states have a problem READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. EXERCISE EASTERN BRIDGE -VI READ MORE
2. Exclusion from SWIFT: what it entails READ MORE
3. Russia-Ukraine conflict hits sunflower oil imports; industry weighs options in other countries READ MORE
4. Explained | What are market infrastructure institutions? READ MORE
5. SC quashes Bihar notification to declare Lohar caste ST READ MORE
6. India abstains from UNSC procedural vote for emergency General Assembly session on Ukraine READ MORE
7. Cabinet approves supply of coal through common e-auction window READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. No quick fix: India must not allow mushrooming of medical colleges without trained faculty, infrastructure READ MORE
2. Liberalise, do not bureaucratise READ MORE
3. Too many IAS chief secretaries, not enough posts — Indian states have a problem READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUE

1. Mental health needs more than medicine READ MORE  

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. A testing vote: India had good reasons to abstain, but might have to revisit its stance if the conflict worsens READ MORE
2. Russia-West conflict of interest over Ukraine READ MORE
3. A tightrope: India’s abstention at the UNSC resolution against Russia sends out conflicting signals READ MORE
4. UN Security Council Remains as Powerless as Ever READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. With Russia-Ukraine conflict, comes inflation challenge READ MORE
2. Our forex cushion READ MORE
3. Food for thought READ MORE
4. It’s time to simplify the direct tax laws READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. Tackling the plastic problem: The UN Environment Assembly meet could finalise a way forward for global cooperation in reducing plastic consumption READ MORE
2. India: We May Have Overestimated How Much Carbon Our Forests Can Hold READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. India’s journey at CERN has been remarkable READ MORE
2. Science needs bigger investment for better results READ MORE 

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Save the world from war, spread meditativeness READ MORE
2. Leo Tolstoy’s Law of Love READ MORE
3. Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘The recent Ukraine invades by Russia shows that United Nations Security Council is remains as powerless as ever’. In the light of the statement discuss the need for the reform in UNSC.
2. ‘India’s record procurement levels should not be viewed as an achievement, but instead as pointers to deep flaws in the agriculture marketing system’. In the light of the statement discuss how India can address this cropping imbalance?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• There never was a good war or a bad peace.
• India had good reasons to abstain from UNSC, but might have to revisit its stance if the conflict worsens.
• India must not allow mushrooming of medical colleges without trained faculty, infrastructure.
• Merely having private establishments start medical schools, without a long-term commitment to offer necessary training and post-graduate education, could lead to a repeat of the engineering fiasco after the dotcom boom.
• The UN Environment Assembly meet could finalise a way forward for global cooperation in reducing plastic consumption.
• Prices must be prevented from surging upwards. This calls for reforming India’s grain management and food subsidy system.
• It is important to reform the grain-management-cum-food-subsidy system to release precious resources for growth of agriculture.
• We’ll soon confront a moment of truth over how the country plans to get its high debt pile-up back under a level that would allow for a sustainable fiscal approach in the years to come.
• India’s record procurement levels should not be viewed as an achievement, but instead as pointers to deep flaws in the agriculture marketing system.
• A self-reliant India needs to at least double its investment in S&T. Nobel prizes will follow and the long drought could end sooner than later.
• The government might be working on simplifying the capital gains tax rules, bringing a more uniform definition for long-term capital gains and the tax rate on them.
• Punitive measures like sanctions, severing diplomatic ties, or delinking trade might just be symbolic when it comes to powerful nations, and these steps might not deter them.
• The entire spotlight is on how Russia has violated territorial integrity, but no one is asking as to why the current system of collective security has failed to maintain international peace and security in the game of great power politics.
• Russia should not fall into the trap of China to share the financial burden of keeping a terrorist country like Pakistan functional.

50-WORD TALK

• Owing to the collective failure of the West to check the economic juggernaut of the CPC, the US and its allies are now desperate to cobble up an economic coalition. Moscow too has been making its way into the European heartland through one of the most lucrative exports — natural gas. Russia alone was enough to meet the energy needs of the politico-economic geography of the European Union and NATO nations.
• India’s journey from being food-deficient to becoming food-surplus helped the country achieve independence in food production. But today, the Green Revolution of yesteryear needs to turn into an ‘ever-Green Revolution’ to find solutions to air pollution caused by stubble burning in northern India. Again, national science will have to come to the rescue.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 168]

THE CONTEXT: Recent visits by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to countries in the region appear to show new energy in India’s neighbourhood policy. This article discusses the need for the reworking of neighbourhood policy.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF INDIA’S REGIONAL POLICY

• The notion of regional primacy certainly persisted in the Nehruvian era —seen in the three security treaties that the first prime minister signed with Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal during 1949-50.
• The post-colonial phase, which broadly began in the late 1940s, again, has had a complementariness that helped India and its neighbours to propel ideas such as non-alignment in the international arena, which was inspired by a macro-level “third worldism”, “South-South cooperation” and so on.
• As India got involved in border conflicts with Pakistan & China and also due to persisting poor economic policies, its influence in the neighbourhood got marginalised.
• Though multilateralism prevailed in India’s foreign policy at the international level, there has been a tremendous focus on bilateralism in India’s approach to its immediate neighbourhood.
• India’s economic reorientation since 1991 and the rediscovery of regionalism did open possibilities for reconnecting with its neighbors.

In that context, to a large extent, India’s foreign policy approach towards its neighbours was shaped by the “principle of balancing”.

KEY FOREIGN POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

NEED FOR POLICY REWORK

It is extremely important that our engagement with our neighbouring countries should not be event-oriented; it should be process-oriented. And we should have a plan for a continuous engagement at various levels.

• Recently, there have been many strains in ties with neighbours. For instance, With Nepal over its Constitution in 2015 and now over the map, and With Bangladesh over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
• Need clarity regarding China. It is very easy to accuse any of India’s neighbouring countries of being too close to China. But it’s very difficult to set out the exact terms of what they should or shouldn’t do with China.
• South-East Asia is one of the largest regions in the world by population. It is one of the least integrated regions with tremendous deficits in terms of infrastructure, connectivity, and interdependence. It is a region that is now being exposed to various geopolitical competition dynamics.
• We should focus on creating interdependence in this region that will give India strategic leverage.

There should be an awareness that there is a price to be paid if we try to always prioritize domestic factors over foreign policy issues. Generosity and firmness must go hand in hand. If you have determined what your key interests are, then it is better to make it known what the red lines are.

CHALLENGES

Structural Challenges: India has historical legacies of border conflict, ethnic and social tensions and India’s are the dominant structural handicaps working against the success of India’s policy in South Asia.

• The challenges of settling boundaries, sharing river waters, protecting the rights of minorities, and easing the flow of goods and people, affects regional diplomacy.
• For example, the issues related to Madhesis in Nepal, Tamils in Sri Lanka, border and river water disputes with Bangladesh are accorded to various structural handicaps of India.

Lack of Consensus on Security and Development:

• South Asia is one of the only regions without any regional security architecture.
• India’s big brotherly stature has been seen as more of a threat by other countries of the region rather than an enabling factor to cooperate for the security and development of the region.

Chinese influence:  Beyond the bilateral territorial dispute between India and China, the emergence of a powerful state on India’s frontiers affected India’s relationship with its neighboring countries.

• China has made foray into India’s neighbourhood of alternative trade and connectivity options after the 2015 India-Nepal border blockade (e.g. highway to Lhasa, cross-border railway lines to the development of dry port).
• In Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan, China holds strategic real estate and has a stake in their domestic policies.
• China is undertaking political mediations such as stepping in to negotiate a Rohingya refugee return agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh, hosting a meeting of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s foreign ministers to bring both on board with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and is also mediating between Maldivian government and opposition.

India’s Hard Power Tactics:

• India has a central location in South Asia and being the largest geographically and economically, India should be expected to hold greater sway over each of its neighbours but many of its hard power tactics do not seem to work.
• The 2015 Nepal blockade and a subsequent cut in Indian aid did not force the Nepali government to amend its constitution as intended and may have led to the reversal of India’s influence there.

Political loggerheads:

• For various reasons other governments in the SAARC region are either not on ideal terms with India or facing political headwinds.
• In the Maldives, President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has challenged India through its crackdown on the opposition, invitations to China and breaking with India’s effort to isolate Pakistan at SAARC.
• In Nepal, the K.P. Sharma Oli government is not India’s first choice, and both countries have disagreements over the Nepalese constitution, Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950 etc.
• In Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, where relations have been comparatively better for the past few years, upcoming elections could pose a challenge for India.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE

Many of these factors mentioned are hard to reverse but the fundamental facts of geography and shared cultures in South Asia are also undeniable, and India must focus its efforts on “Making the Neighbourhood First Again”

1. Soft Power:

• Despite the apparent benefits of hard power and realpolitik, India’s most potent tool is its soft power.
• Its successes in Bhutan and Afghanistan, for example, have primarily been due to its development assistance than its defence assistance.
• Considering this India’s allocations for South Asia have also increased by 6% in 2018 after two years of decline.

2. Approach towards China: Instead of opposing every project by China in the region, India must attempt a three-pronged approach:

• First, where possible, India should collaborate with China in the manner it has over the Bangladesh China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor.
• Second, when it feels a project is a threat to its interests, India should make a counter-offer to the project, if necessary, in collaboration with its Quadrilateral partners, Japan, the U.S. and Australia. Third, India should coexist with projects that do not necessitate intervention, while formulating a set of South Asian principles for sustainable development assistance that can be used across the region.

3. Learn from ASEAN: 

• Like ASEAN, SAARC countries must meet more often informally, interfere less in the internal workings of each other’s governments, and that there be more interaction at every level of government.
• Further, some experts have argued that like Indonesia India too must take a back seat in decision-making, enabling others to build a more harmonious SAARC process.

4. Multi-vector foreign policy:

• Promotion of a multi-vector foreign policy by diversifying its foreign policy attention on multiple powers (not only the US; but also Russia, the European Union, Africa and so on) in the global arena while developing a stronger matrix of multilateralism and employing stronger diplomatic communications strategies.

5. Understand limitations of the neighbourhood first:

• India needs investments, access to technology, fulfilment of its defence and energy needs and defends of its interests in international trade negotiations, besides seeking reform of the international financial and political institutions to obtain its rightful say in global governance which may not be fulfilled by its neighbours.

Proximity is one of the greatest assets which we have with respect to all our neighbors. But this connectivity has to be linked with the ‘software of connectivity’.

WAY FORWARD:

A new neighborhood policy needs to be imaginatively crafted in tune with the emerging realities in order to maintain its regional power status and to realize status transformation to the next level in the near future. Such re-strategizing can enable India to strengthen its position in the region/neighborhood.

• India’s neighborhood policy can go a long way if these initiatives are properly backed up by sufficient innovative hard power resources (defense and economy) and the use of soft power strategies.
• Soft power strategies can be operationalized only by way of creatively propelling India’s democratic values and ideas, which can further improve its civilizational ties with regional states. This in turn can lead to a recalibration of India’s neighbourhood policy.
• India’s neighborhood policy should be based on the principles of the Gujral Doctrine. This would ensure India’s stature and strength cannot be isolated from the quality of its relations with its neighbors and there can be regional growth as well.

The China factor, the changing global power architecture, and the existing conflicts with neighbours will play a significant role in India’s foreign policy, of which its neighbourhood policy is a crucial one.

CONCLUSION:

There is no doubt that the challenges which India must deal with in its neighborhood will become more complex and even threatening compared to two decades ago. But neighborhood first policy must be anchored in the sustained engagement at all levels of the political and people to people levels, building upon the deep cultural affinities which are unique to India’s relations with its neighbors.