Target-Oriented Population Control during the Emergency Period (1975-1977)

A major breakthrough in the population control process took place when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced a nationwide emergency in 1975 and rigorously enforced mass sterilization programmes to bring down the population growth rate. About 6.2 million Indian men were sterilised in just a year which, according to a 2014 BBC news report, was 15 times the number of people sterilized by the Nazis. Vasectomy was a safer procedure than tubectomy, especially at that time, as it required less recovery time and follow-up hence poor men became the main targets of this gruesome campaign. The campaign to sterilise men involved many levels of harassment. There were even reports of police dragging the men to mass vasectomy camps. Men were considered easier targets for threats like job loss or fines, since they were more likely to be employed outside the home, to take public transportation and to go out or pick up government food rations.

Incentives and disincentives were given on a large scale for acts such as getting oneself sterilized or convincing other citizens to get sterilized. From offering plots of land in return for sterilization to threatening the loss of a government job for those who refused the procedure. While both men and women could be sterilized, the medical system was equipped to do many more vasectomies than tubectomies. Records have shown that the sterilization process mostly targeted the poor citizens and that wealthier Indians were able to buy their way out of the system. The coercive measures and the sterilizations caused a great deal of anger among the people. This unrest caused in the country is also considered as one of the reasons why Indira Gandhi’s government was voted out in the 1977 elections.

Voluntary Period since 1997

The next major breakthrough happened after the emergency period where the Indian government took a 180° turn and began to turn its family planning policy towards women. Female sterilizations became by far the most popular method of contraception. Family planning programmes further extended to rural areas through the network of primary health centres. The most fundamental change of the Indian population policy since 1977 was that family planning became mostly voluntary. The Indian government now put more emphasis on incentives to attract people to accept family planning voluntarily instead of forceful measures. During the Seventh Five Year Plan period between 1986 and 1991, the Indian government’s population control policy extended to including both long term and short term as well as specific goals. The long-term goal was to fix the net reproduction rate to be achieved by 2001 and the short-term goal focused on the female minimum age of marriage and the practice of contraception. The specific goal was to promote a two-child norm by increasing awareness among the people about family planning and responsible parenthood. The government efforts in population control now also extended to increase the literacy rate of the population and especially women.

Formation of the ICPD (1994)

The year 1994 is considered to be a noteworthy one in the history of family planning programmes in the world since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) convened under the United Nations at Cairo in 1994 made some recommendations that were accepted by many developing countries including India that changed the direction of family planning programmes. The conference recommended that family planning programmes should not be driven by demographic goals but instead, they should be based on women’s reproductive rights and reproductive health, keeping in mind the well-being of everyone (International Institute for Population Sciences, 2016).

Adoption of NPP in the year 2000

India adopted the National Population Policy (NPP) in the year 2000 which decentralized the decision making to local government and improved the coordination between the government and the local and non-government organizations. Stress was given to improve the status of mothers and children. The programme focuses on the improvement of health care infrastructure and services and the empowerment of women. It also gives more emphasis to use of contraceptive methods like IUCDs, promotes delayed marriage for girls, provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory education up to 14 years of age, seeks to achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable diseases and to reduce infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births. Insurance is provided for the deaths, complications and failures caused by sterilization; compensating those who accept sterilizations and increasing male participation in family planning. Family welfare is now promoted as a people-centered program.

Endnote

Overpopulation is the root cause of numerous problems like low per capita income, unemployment and overburdened natural resources among many others. Therefore, the need of the hour today is a more effective measure to reduce the population growth in Indian society. Importance has to be given to population education, achievement of equal status for women and lower caste people, development of economy, urbanization, and modernization of the whole society. When socioeconomic conditions improve, the birth rate will be lower and the overpopulation problem will be reduced (Population Control Policies and Implementations in India, 2019).

References

• Biswas, S. (2014). India’s dark history of sterilisation. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30040790
• Srinivasan, K. (2016). “India’s Population Issues and Policies: Professionals’ Perceptions”, Working Paper No. 11, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. https://www.iipsindia.ac.in/sites/default/files/IIPS_Working_Paper11.pdf
• Wang, G. T. Population Control Policies and Implementations in India. https://doi.org/10.15640/jssw.v7n2a14

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Making India $5 Trillion Economy- What Should India Primarily Focus on?

Before the pandemic struck the entire world, India was expected to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025. The Covid-19 Pandemic had distorted all projections and left the world in an unpredictable state for almost a year. The economies all over the world crashed down due to the lockdowns and global unrest. Data from the National Statistical Office projects a 7.7 percent contraction for FY2021. 

But even if we look prior to the pandemic, India’s $5 trillion economy had many obstacles that needed focus to achieve the dream. One of the most important is India’s manufacturing sector. India’s manufacturing sector is not strong enough to allow expansion and integration in the global value chain. The Economic Survey pointed out that the global value chain exports could contribute a quarter of the increase in value-added for the $5 trillion goal and generate four million jobs by 2025 and eight million by 2030 via the Make in India initiative. (Reddy & S, 2021)

In order to integrate our manufacturing sector with the GVCs, it is very important to develop the infrastructure with top most priority. One example of this is China. China has done huge investments on infrastructure in the first half of the 20th century and the results of that can be seen now by the entire world. China has rapidly risen in the GVC due to its investment on infrastructure. This has led China to becoming the centre for world production. At this point in time, China is one of the strongest economies and has almost reached the stage of being self-reliant. 

India has announced Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) with the view of transforming India into an important global player and making India self-reliant. The campaign has also created confusion in the minds of the MNCs as in the initial stages of the campaign India put a ban on the import of various non-essential commodities. Although these import restrictions were put to encourage domestic production to make India self reliant, these may also be seen as an obstruction in integrating India with the GVC. The import restriction can discourage global investors and in turn harms the long term goal for becoming a manufacturing hub. 

For India to achieve a $5 trillion economy, it has to encourage more and more foreign investments in the country and be as closely integrated with the GVC as possible. The policies made therefore have to be more welcoming for the global investors and MNCs and less restrictive in terms of import tariffs. 

The government should first and foremost focus on infrastructural development in the country in order to improve the manufacturing sector and be able to competitively produce. It should perhaps create a more open trade environment so that there is free trade of goods and services. The infrastructural development can also be useful for the performance linked incentive sectors. In this regard, the government’s Rs 111 lakh crore or $1.4 trillion investments in the National Infrastructure Pipeline can be seen as an important step towards building the required infrastructure. NIP consists of investment from the centre (39 per cent), state governments (20 percent) and private sector (21 per cent). It is very important at this point that the centre and the state governments work in a collaborative manner in order to devise smooth systems and proper and timely implementations of the policies. The central government should be hands on with any shortcomings of the state government so that there is minimum or no harmful repercussions felt over and beyond. It is important to make India so strong that even though India is a labour intensive country, it can have the ability to also be a major exporter of the capital intensive commodities along with labour intensive commodities. (Reddy & S, 2021)

It is as important to develop the traditional labour intensive commodities market so that India holds its foot strong in the global market when it comes to labour intensive commodities as it is one of the major aspects of the Make In India project.

Efforts of States to Achieve $5 Trillion Goal

UP Budget 2021-22 

The UP government on February 22nd brought the state budget to the table of the state Assembly. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented the first paperless budget including ₹ 5,50,270.78 crore for 2021-22. It is about ₹37,410 crore more than the previous year’s budget. The focus of the budget was to make Uttar Pradesh Atmanirbhar and ensure overall development of the state. (Rudrappa, 2021)

Some of the important Budget Highlights:

1. UP government announced ₹2000 crore for Noida International Airport and also, building electronic city near airport.
2. UP budget proposed at least ₹640 crore for the overall development of Ayodhya.
3. The UP government made provision of ₹1,175 crore for metro rail projects. There is a provision of ₹597 crore for the Kanpur metro rail project in the budget presented by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna.
4. The UP government made ₹7,000 crore provision for Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojna.
5. A budget provision of Rs 976 crores for the development of canals, ₹610 crores for Saryu Canal Project, and ₹271 crores for the Eastern Ganga Canal Project were proposed. ₹104 crores was also proposed for Ken Betwa Interlink Canal Project. (D’Souza, 2021)
6. ₹1326 crore has been given for Delhi-Meerut RRTS and ₹100 crores each for Gorakhpur-Varanasi metro.

The investments on infrastructure by the UP government is one of the key aspects that could help transform India into a global manufacturing hub. The provisions made in the budget also promises to generate employment for the state leading to a higher SGDP. The infrastructural boost will lead the state to become more efficient in its development. With projects like Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, the UP government has promised to bring taps, electricity, roads, water in every household along with making the state digitally equipped. The Chief Minister in his speech mentioned that the budget focuses on the poor, women, youth and the farmers. 

Bihar Budget 2021-22

The Bihar government announced a ₹2.18 lakh crore budget for 2021-22 with focus on social sector and infrastructural development. The Chief Minister of Bihar also announced a separate department for skill development and entrepreneurship in the state. The Chief Minister announced that the government has made the highest allocation in the education sector worth ₹38,035.93 crore followed by ₹16,835.67 crore for rural development, ₹15,227.74 crore for roads, ₹13,264.87 crore for health and ₹8,560.00 crore for energy. (Bihar’s Rs 2.18 trillion budget for FY22 prioritises social, infra sectors, 2021)

Some of the important highlights of the Bihar Budget:

1. All villages in Bihar will have the facility of solar street lights.
2. A budget provision of ₹250 crore for building link roads in rural areas of Bihar.
3. The state allocated ₹110 crores towards building of new engineering colleges.
4. Three new medical colleges are already under construction. 
5. 38 districts of the state have been declared as open defecation free.

The Bihar government has also focused on developing the infrastructure of the state along with improving the rural regions of the state. This inclusive development efforts of the state government will generate more skilled employment and improve the lifestyle of the rural people. The state government has made extra effort in building a separate skill development department in order to increase the skilled employment in the state integrating with the idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

West Bengal Budget 2021-22

The West Bengal government announced its budget in the absence of the Finance Minister of the state. The government has announced a ₹29,96,88 crore budget for 2021-2022. (West Bengal Budget 2021-2022, 2021)

Some of the important budget highlights:

1. ₹1500 cr allocated for the construction of 20 lakh houses for SC/STs.
2. ₹50 cr allocated for building the infrastructure of 100 new English medium schools.
3. Building of 100 new schools for Nepali, Urdu, Kamtapuri and Kurmali language.
4. 45 lakh construction and transport workers will be given ₹1000 each under the social security scheme.
5. 100 IAS and IPS aspirants will be trained by the state government along with fooding, lodging and providing stipend.
6. All kinds of road taxes lifted from January 2021 to June 2021.

The budget of West Bengal has seen a rise in the expenditure on infrastructure 3.9 times. The state’s planned expenditure increased by 7.2 times. The expenditure on social sectors has risen by 5.6 times.These highlights show that the state government is perhaps in link with the national goal but has to do more in terms of investing in the infrastructure. To build a self reliant nation, the state governments have to work in synchronisation with the central government. 

CONCLUSION 

In view of the Modi government’s aim to make India a $5 trillion economy, the state governments’ budgets do perhaps look in sync. The state governments have focused primarily on the infrastructural developments and enhancing the skilled employment in the respective states. It is very important for these states to pull up their sock in order to provide a competitive development strategy. In order for India to become a global leader in terms of exports, it is very important that the two most important factors are strongly built-infrastructure and skilled labour. 

Being a country with the largest youth population in the world, it is our responsibility to stand out and become self reliant along with being a provider for the world. The pandemic has brought in many changes and should be seen as an opportunity to develop new skills and explore the untapped potentials of the country. 

References

Bihar’s Rs 2.18 trillion budget for FY22 prioritises social, infra sectors. (2021, February 22). Business Standard.

D’Souza, C. E. (2021, February 22). UP Budget 2021-22: Yogi Adityanath govt proposes Rs 140 crore for development of Ayodhya. ZEE News.

Reddy, K., & S, S. (2021, January 13). Building a $5-trillion economy. The Indian Express.

Rudrappa, P. (2021, FEBRUARY 22). UP Budget 2021 Live Updates: UP Presents ₹ 5.5 Lakh Crore Budget To Make State “Aatmanirbhar”. NDTV.

West Bengal Budget 2021-2022. (2021, February 22). The Times of India.

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Jammu and Kashmir is a region bordered between India and Pakistan and has been in conflict since British rule. Both the nations claim the mountainous valley to be part of their respective nations and thus has been in an ever long political dispute (Ishfaq-ul-Hassan, 2018). For the longest time, Kashmir has been a victim of terrorism, unstable political situation and to top that, infrastructure has also been one of the major issues. The difficult terrain of Kashmir makes it especially challenging for construction and thus has been lagging when compared with most of the other states. Kashmir was for a long time, the princely state and the only Muslim majority state which joined India in 1947. Both India and Pakistan have thereon captured parts of Kashmir but are still in a tiff to have a bigger portion of the state.

An Overview of the Infrastructure Scenario of Kashmir

Infrastructure in Kashmir which includes health, education, tourism, industrial development has lagged for an exceptionally long time.  A survey of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has shown that Jammu and Kashmir have the poorest sanitation facilities compared to the other states.  It is also important to note that the majority of the population still live in rural areas so the health and education infrastructure is not still as developed as it should be (Pandey, 2019). The rural areas lack private schools and the government schools are also in a bad state. Poor school infrastructure is one of the important reasons for the low literacy rate of the state. Several surveys conducted on the schooling facilities of Jammu and Kashmir have shown that due to lack of proper infrastructure, the students are made to sit on the floors, they do not have proper sanitation facilities in those schools etc. The buildings of the schools are in a worn-out state and on top of that, the 2014 floods in Jammu and Kashmir have damaged no less than 1400 schools (Digital, 2019). This leads to higher dropout rates in the state. Another important issue faced is that most of the schools do not have electricity. These infrastructural problems have been identified over the years and even though the government did put in efforts to resolve these issues, the condition of infrastructure in the state has not improved to a large extent.

As more and more tourists turn up each year, the pressure on the mountains is increasing at an alarming rate and poor infrastructure can cause unforeseen disasters if not taken care of immediately.

Why Article 370 Was a Cause of Concern?

According to Article 370 which was drafted by the then Chief Minister of Kashmir, other than a few areas of national concern like defence, foreign affairs, communication and finance, the central government had to take the consent of the state government to apply any laws or policies in Jammu and Kashmir. This article was made to be permanent and henceforth even more stringent. In simpler terms, the people of the state did not fall under the same rules as the rest of the country and lived by the rules of the state, hence given the status of special autonomy (Jaitley, 2016). This also gave the state’s government, the power to decide who could have ownership of land, or who could and could not invest in the land of Kashmir. This led to a huge problem as people who did not belong to Kashmir, could not officially buy land. This in turn meant that there weren’t any major external investments coming to Kashmir. The Modi government has linked Article 370 as one of the major reasons for the state’s infrastructure remaining underdeveloped for an awfully long period of time. In August 2019, Article 370 was finally abolished (TNN, 2019).

All of this has led to a rise in the need for a planned and vast investment boost in infrastructure in Kashmir to look forward to a better and safer future.

Huge Infrastructure Boost on the Way

The central government has aimed to bring a huge infrastructural boost to Jammu and Kashmir. The objective of this investment is to generate employment and investment in the state. Jammu and Kashmir was officially divided into two federally controlled territories on Oct 31, 2019. The region mostly depends on tourism, handicrafts and farming and has suffered poor infrastructure for decades continuously.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed on an investment boost of $3.8 billion after scraping out article 370. This is done in the view of increasing investments in the territory and generating employment opportunities. 

Let us now look at the investment programs brought through this infrastructural boost:

1. There has been investment in an elevated Mass rapid transit system in Kashmir. Kashmir will have two Light Rail transit systems (LRTS). The LRTS I is a 17 km long corridor that connects Bantalab to Greater Kailash with 17 stations to be crossed. The LRTS II will be 6 km long that connects Udheywala to Exhibition Ground (Digital, 2019).
2. There are infrastructure plans are Srinagar which will have two corridors. It is a 12.5-km-long corridor I which will connect HMT Junction to Indra Nagar crossing 12 stations. The second corridor is a 12.5-km-long corridor II that will connect Osmanabad to Hazuri Bagh. In order to further develop Srinagar and Jammu, the Metropolitan Regional Development Authorities (MRDAs) have been set up. Satellite townships with 50,000 new houses each are being developed in Greater Srinagar and Greater Jammu. These new townships will have one million sq ft IT parks (Digital, 2019).
3.  In view of improving connectivity, there have been investments to develop the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line. The corridor will help improve connectivity with Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. This railway line will be the world’s highest railway track and 465kms long. 52 per cent of the total 465 km length will pass through tunnels. The longest tunnel will be 27 km long. The total length of the tunnels is expected to be around 244 km (Digital, 2019).
4. The construction, operation and maintenance of 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) Tunnel were approved during 2018 by the cabinet that excluded approaches on Srinagar-Leh section connecting NH-1A at Km 95.00 in Jammu & Kashmir. The 14 km-long tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel. This tunnel will be a sigh of engineering excellence considering the difficult terrain that it will be built on. The construction of this tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh (Digital, 2019).
5. The Dal Lake will also be restored. The government has planned investment to improve and beautify the lake further. Srinagar and Kashmir are also set for new pollution free e-buses (Digital, 2019).

Possible Impact of the Infrastructure Boost on Kashmir’s Economy

The increase in public as well the private investment is looked forward to bringing a significant amount of income through Kashmir. The government is expecting to attract $5-6 million through these investment programs (ANI, 2020). As the Modi government was for long against the special status given to Kashmir, they now hope that the scraping out of Article 370 along with such a huge boost in the infrastructure will not only lead to a better life for the natives of Kashmir but will also help generate income to a very large extent.

The boost in infrastructure will lead to improvements in the tourism sector to a large extent. The tourism sector is one of the most important sectors of Kashmir. As every year, the number of tourists only rise, the infrastructure must be able to support the rising strengths, along with protecting the mountains and the ecology of the place (Vignesh Radhakrishnan, 2019).

The railway lines and corridors approved for construction will lead to better connectivity among the places which has been a major problem for a very long time. These large constructions were due for a long time and a properly planned and executed infrastructural project can generate employment as well as income for the long term.

The geographically difficult terrain makes it even more important focus on the infrastructure of the place for it being able to operate at its optimum capacity. The natives of Kashmir have been in distress for almost all their lives along with the fear of terrorism at any given time (IBEF, 2020). The beautiful landscape has a lot of potential for generating income and employment for its people. And this huge infrastructural boost will hopefully help in attaining that potential along with maintaining an adequate ecological balance.

Conclusion

The debate on stabilizing the economy of Kashmir has been a highlight for decades now. However, with this infrastructural boost on the way and the projects taken up by the government, there seems to be some light at the end of years of the dark tunnel.

Bibliography

Infrastructure boost for Kashmir! From highest railway line to longest tunnel, check upcoming projects. (2019). Times Now.

Ishfaq-ul-Hassan. (2018, January 23). Jammu and Kashmir: Infrastructure development gets massive boost; funds for new bridges, tunnels, highways earmarked. Retrieved from DNA: https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-jammu-and-kashmir-infrastructure-development-gets-massive-boost-funds-for-new-bridges-tunnels-highways-earmarked-2577795

Digital, E. N. (2019, June 15). Infrastructure boost for Kashmir! From highest railway line to longest tunnel, check upcoming projects. Retrieved from ETNOWNEWS.COM: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/infrastructure-boost-for-kashmir-from-highest-railway-line-to-longest-tunnel-check-upcoming-projects/436943

Jaitley, A. (2016, 26 June). India needs $1.5 trillion for infrastructure development: Arun Jaitley. Retrieved from ZeeNews: https://zeenews.india.com/business/news/economy/india-needs-1-5-trillion-for-infrastructure-development-arun-jaitley_1900273.html

ANI. (2020, August 2). Kashmir gets infrastructure boost in higher education sector. Retrieved from yahoo!news: https://in.news.yahoo.com/kashmir-gets-infrastructure-boost-higher-043022239.html

Vignesh Radhakrishnan, S. S. (2019, August 7 ). Is Jammu and Kashmir underdeveloped as stated by Amit Shah? Retrieved from The Hindu : https://www.thehindu.com/data/where-does-jammu-and-kashmir-stand-in-comparison-to-other-states-in-key-indicators-of-growth-and-development/article28855512.ece

IBEF. (2020, November 17 ). Jammu And Kashmir Presentation And Economic Growth Report | IBEF. Retrieved from India Brand Equity Foundation : https://www.ibef.org/states/jammu-and-kashmir-presentation

Pandey, G. (2019, August 5). Article 370: What happened with Kashmir and why it matters. Retrieved from BBC News : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708

TNN. (2019, August 3). What is Article 370? Three Key Points . Retrieved from The Times of India : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/What-is-Article-370Article-370/articleshow/35678708.cms

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About 10 to 15% of gold is used in various applications that use its special properties. Its corrosion-resistant, static-free electrical conductivity process is used in small amounts in about 1.5 billion smartphones sold till date. It is also used in other electronic devices where efficient, high performance is required such as mounting microprocessors and memory chips onto the computer motherboards. Navigation in car and mobile phone depend on the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites which have gold-plated component to protect them from ultraviolet light and X-ray corrosion.

Silver has the lowest contact resistance and the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals which makes it essential in components of Green Technologies. Silver is needed for solar panels, fast charging, in-road applications and certain types of electrodes. It is used in circuit boards and some batteries where the speed of operation exceeds that which provides copper.

Today 40% platinum, 80% palladium and 80% rhodium are used as catalyst converters for car-bus-truck and other industrial processes. Due to platinum’s high heat resistance, its melting point is 1770°C and wear-resistant properties, it is used for contact points of spark plugs which last twice as long as conventional copper spark plugs. In health care, platinum is used in pacemakers and defibrillators. Platinum compounds are used in chemotherapy to prevent cancer.

Precious metals, their composite products and the products obtained as a result of their use really make our lives more enjoyable, safer, more productive and healthier. They enable us to have a cleaner environment today and their importance is increasing as Europe moves the world towards a low-carbon economy.

Countries With Largest Gold and Silver Reserves

In 2010, central banks around the world went from gold net sellers to gold net buyers. In 2019, public sector activity declined by 1% from the previous year, with central banks adding 650.3 tons. This is slightly less than in 2018, when banks purchased 656.2 tons. 15 Central banks made net purchases of one ton or more in 2019, highlighting the continuous demand for billion globally. Turkey was the number one buyer, adding 159 tons to reserves. Poland made the single largest purchase for the year when it bought 94.9 tons in June.

Below are top 10 countries with the largest gold holdings, starting with the Netherlands, which currently surpasses India:

Netherlands

Tons: 612.5

Percent of foreign reserves 71.4%

India

Tons: 657.7

Percent of foreign reserves: 7.5%

Not surprisingly, the Reserve Bank of India has one of the largest gold reserves in the world. The South Asian country of 1.35 billion people is the second largest consumer of the precious metals and one of the reliable drivers of global demand.

Japan

Tones: 765.2

Percent of foreign reserves: 3.2%

Japan is the third largest economy in the world and yellow is the eighth largest stockholder.

Switzerland

Tons: 1,040.0

Percent of foreign reserves: 6.5%

Seventh is Switzerland, which has the world’s largest gold reserves per capita. During World War II, the neutral country became the center of the gold trade in Europe, trading with allies and Axis powers. Today, most of its gold is traded with Hong Kong and China.

China

Tons: 1,948.3

Percent foreign reserves: 3.4%

In the summer of 2015, the People’s Bank of China began buying gold on a monthly basis for the first time since 2009.

Russia

Tons: 2,299.9

Percent of foreign reserves: 23.0%

The Russian Central Bank has been the largest buyer of gold for the past seven years and the fifth largest reserve in 2018, surpassing China. In 2014, Russia bought 224 tons of bullion in an attempt to diversify from the US dollar, as relations with the west have increased since the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in mid-2014.

Silver has been classified as a technically precious metal, but has many industrial uses. And it is used in a variety of technologies and products that most people in the developed world use on a daily basis. In 2019, silver production rose to 27,000 worldwide.

United States

The United States is the tenth largest producer of silver. In 2019 it produced 980 metric tons of metal from three silver mines and nearly 40 other base and precious metal mining operations around the country.

Argentina

With the production of 1200 metric tons of silver in 2019, Argentina established a relationship with Bolivia for the ninth place in the list. Last year its production increased to 17.6 per cent.

South America

South America is ninth on the list, along with Bolivia, a country bordering Argentina. It produced 1,200 metric tons of silver in 2019, slightly more than the 1,19 metric tons produced in 2018. The country has many silver mines especially the Cerro Rico de Potosi which is estimated to still have large deposits of silver inside.

Chile

Chile produced 1300 metric tons in 2019, which was 1370 metric tons in 2018. The size of Chile is comparable to Texas and has an estimated 27,000 metric tons of silver reserves.

Australia

Australia is a country that has a relatively stable silver production level. The country produced 1400 metric tons in 2019, although it has the third largest silver reserves after Peru and Poland.

Poland

Poland produced 1700 metric tons of silver in 2019, up about 15% from 2018. Poland holds a unique place in the silver markets: despite being a small country the size of New Mexico, it has large silver reserves of 100,000 metric tons.

Mexico

The number one silver producing country is the Mexico. In 2019, the country produced 6,300 metric tons of the metal, an increase of 180 metric tons over the past year.

Role of Precious Metal in World Economy

Metal production and metal consumption are concentrated in a few countries but locations often overlap. China is a primary center for both consumption and production, which is reflected in global industrial production. Several individual entities, including several multinational and state-owned corporations, control large market shares to produce and refine the base metal. The issue of production is not just a complete story of the importance of gold; the gold mine represents an important source of employment.

South Africa has the largest employment at 146k, followed by Russia at 138K, China at about 98K, Australia at 32K and Indonesia at 19K.

Canada spent the most capital on gold production at about $2.5 billion, followed by the United States at about $2.5 billion, Australia at about $2.3 billion, South Africa at about $1.8 billion, and Russia at a little less than $1.8 billion.

The relationship between ongoing investment capital commitment and one-time expansionary investment capital is not so strong. For example, Canada saw businesses spend $2.2 billion on one-time expansion projects, compared to $395 million in ongoing capital expenditures. South African businesses have spent $1 billion on capital needs, while investing $759 million in one-time capital expenditures alone.

The importance of gold is fully usable and is reflected in the export industries. Overall jewelry contributes about 43 percent of the total global demand. This is followed by bars and currency demand at 29%, official banking sector at 12%, electronics at 7%, exchange traded funds and similar investment vehicles at 6%, industrial demand at 2%.

After a spectacular year, the precious metals are poised for further gains in 2021, overtaking silver, but analysts are wary of the potential for gold as the effects of the coronavirus fall on the global economy. In addition to supply shortages caused by the pandemic, gold and palladium prices have risen more than 20% this year, while silver has risen 47% and platinum 10%.

Physical gold demand was hit by the virus but reflects the investment demand of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-trade fund, SPDR Gold Trust, which has recorded its largest annual profit of about 30% since 2009. A safe-haven asset like gold, but also an industrial metal used in products including solar panels, silver climbed from $18 an ounce in January to almost $30 in August before slipping to around $25. Most analysts expect the deficit to continue in 2021 as the global economy recovers and sales rebound.

People look for precious metals, especially in times of crisis. Many people bought both gold and silver in the 1970s due to high inflation. In fact, silver reacted twice as much as gold to those events. It has become a source of protection.

Silver may play second fiddle to gold, more expensive cousin. White metal has played a leading role in shaping the world economy from ancient Egypt to modern America. It was also an element of the military conflict that helped turn Japan into a global power before World War II. Both India and China have a long tradition of preserving silver. Gold is very rare and very expensive so almost everyone in India and China preserves their silver. China has been a huge importer of silver for many centuries, because they kept their net worth silver.

The most amazing thing about silver is the unintended consequences of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pro silver 1930s. This is because the price of silver has dropped by 24 cents an ounce since the Great Depression. There has been a lot of pressure from Western mining states to raise silver prices again. And Franklin Roosevelt needed a Senate vote to pass his controversial New Deal program.

The problem is America was making its coins with silver. Dimes, quarters and half dollars were made with 90% silver. The United States is the largest user of silver. Soon both JFK and LBJ limited restricted the use of silver in currencies.

Silver was four times more valuable between 2008 and 2011 when the whole world was in big trouble. Silver then worked as an insurer.

Impact of Precious Metals on Indian Economy

In the recent past the gold price rush has been so fast that India can be compared to the recession in Greece. However, Indians’ lust for gold is no secret, but it has reached a point where the country’s economy and its currency are being traded as the precious metal has fallen directly for three years. The exchange of billions of dollars of gold from foreign traders resulted in Indian cash being sent abroad and the balance of funds being disrupted. As a result, imports have become expensive and international loans have become difficult to repay.

Gold imports directly affect India’s Current Account Deficit (CAD). The larger the CAD in terms of GDP, the greater the risk to the economy as a whole. The country is currently the world’s largest importer of gold, accounting for one-third of the total supply annually. Ex-finance Minister P.Chidambaram also appealed to Indian consumers to resist the temptation to buy gold, as it would have a more positive impact on the nation’s economy. According to the Reserve Bank of India, the current gold cost is fully met through imports as domestic production of gold has come down to a very low level. Although it is considered that CAD is more sustainable for India at 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent, it is much higher than in 2011, and external resilience has been weakened by gold.

The potentially large but dormant source is the gold locked up with the temples across India. The Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, Sree Padmanabhasway Temple, Guruvayur Temple and Sabarimala Temple in Kerala Pradesh are believed to have large amounts of gold. Sri Padmanabhasway Temple has a gold holding of thousands of billions of dollars.

Action Taken by Government and RBI regarding Precious Metals

With less national gold coming to India through the banking system, the government has tried to consider raising import duties and changing the rules to address the problem. However, the recent fall in gold prices has provided the most effective solution. In August 2013, the finance minister banned countries from selling gold coins to keep the increased current account deficits. Gold imports fell sharply in 2013 to $650 million, according to the government’s domestic shipments of precious metals.

RBI has introduced 80:20 formulas under which 80% of imports will be for domestic demand, while 20% of total imports will have to be re-exported in the form of jewellery.

Conclusion

The financial crisis in late 2008 rocked global markets. The tendency to increase the temptation to allocate to regular investors began. Gold is a frontier against all kinds of uncertainties. Gold comes to recover from the prevailing global and financial uncertainties. But the government needs to crack down on rising gold prices and help investors offset losses due to uncertainties in other markets. Gold is seen as one of the best options for protecting and saving the 1.24 billion people living in India. The rise in imports over the last few years has led to a rise in the price of gold and a weakening of the rupee against the dollar. The combined effect has helped to widen the current account deficit.

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The Indian stock market attracts millions of investors annually. These investors are primarily driven by institutional money. Both FIIs as well as DIIs constitute the major part of liquidity in the stock markets. Therefore the effective tracking of their inflows and outflows are helpful in forecasting the broader trends in the markets. FIIs are believed to have a greater influence on the domestic markets along with the sustained flows from DIIs (Dhanorker, 2020). The countries which constitute a major portion of FII inflows into India are listed below. 

The performance of FIIs and DIIs have been carefully traced to meet the expectations of the investors during the month of January 2021. One of the primary reasons behind this is that the year 2021 will mark the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine followed by the economic recovery that will see Indian government taking stimulus measures to cope with the weak performance of Indian economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. So it becomes utmost important to keep a track of previous FII and DII trading activities. 

The above table shows the trading activities of FIIs and DIIs from November 2020 to January 2021. There has been a continuous decline in the gross purchase of FII from Rs. 260 crores (approximately) in November 2020 to Rs. 168 crores (approximately) in January 2021. The gross sales of FII also declined from Rs 194 crores (approximately) in November 2020  to Rs. 160 crores (approximately) in January 2021. This decline was sharp for the month of  November and December because of the speculations surrounding the foreign investors due to the outbreak of COVID-19 which ultimately registered a steep decline in the net purchase/sales for the FIIs. 

While FIIs were registering a decline in their performance, DIIs, on the other hand, showed an impressive improvement in their performance as their gross purchases increased threefold from Rs. 71 crores (approximately) in November 2020 to Rs. 105 crores (approximately) in January 2021. Due to the restrictions on the movement across the borders and closing of the economies worldwide, the domestic investors started putting their money in the Indian stock market as a result of which the gross purchase increased. The gross sales had increased from November 2020 to December 2020 but reduced during January 2021. This is primarily due to the fact that the domestic inventors chose to wait till the releases of Union Budget 2021-22 before taking any financial decision. 

Vaccine, Covid Situation and Geopolitical Trends to Be Major Drivers for Indian Stock Market in 2021

The global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, news about the release of vaccines, Union budget 2021-22, economic growth and recovery and geopolitical trends are the major factors that would be driving the sentiments of investors in the year 2021 after the pandemic year 2020 that witnessed both good as well as bad times for the stock market in India (PTI, 2021). There were losses incurred by the investors while few record-shattering gains were also observed which depicted that the investors went on a roller-coaster ride amidst the COVID-19 pandemic followed by announcements of massive stimulus measures.  

The Indian stock market experts are of the view that 2021 will see massive changes in the perception and preference of people towards buying and selling of shares, stocks, assets and equities in the financial markets thus affecting their financial decision. In the words of Mr. Hemant Kanawala, Head, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance, “If 2020 was a year of COVID infection, lockdown and recession, 2021 will be a year of vaccination, reopening and recovery.” (PTI, 2021).

Some new highs are continuously observed in the markets due to the positive news on the progress of COVID-19 vaccines and US stimulus announcement. The FY21 will be marked with greater hopes of early release and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine, normalisation of economic activities and undisturbed growth recovery. This will result in better recovery in both economies as well as earnings (PTI, 2021).

The optimism surrounding the vaccine release and measures supporting liquidity which was on a rough path during trading sessions in March 2020 has infused positivity and life into the Indian equity market.  As countries are in a race to vaccinate their large number of people against COVID-19 amidst the news of vaccine makers struggling continuously to meet their demand, India is making plans to speed up the manufacturing of vaccines so as to supply it to 60 nations in the coming months of FY21. 

India’s role as the “pharmacy to the world”, which will be reinforced by its supply of vaccines, will win it goodwill that will stand New Delhi in good stead as it looks to carve out a bigger role for itself in world affairs, analysts said (Roche, 2021). 

Companies’ Quarterly (Q3) Results: An Overview of Performance During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Various companies in India are seeking an increase in their net profits during the Q3 following the strategies adopted by them to deal with the pandemic. This makes Q3 extremely important from the economic recovery point of view. 

The following section suffices the performance of several companies in Q3 and highlights the net profits and net losses incurred by them respectively. 

1. Triveni Turbine posts ₹27.54 crore net profit in Q3.
2. IDFC First Bank posts ₹130 crore profit in Q3.
3. Relaxo Footwears Q3 net profit jumps 67% to ₹90 crores.
4. Shree Cements Q3 profit jumps over two folds to ₹632 crores.
5. ICICI Bank Q3 net profit rises 19.1% to ₹4,939.6 crore.
6. Tata Consumer Q3 results: Net profit rises to 29% to 218 crores, revenue up 23%.
7. Escorts’ net profits jumped 83% in Q3. 
8. Reliance Industries Ltd. net profits rose 12% in Q3. 
9. DLF posts 9% jump in net profits in Q3.
10. Tata Motors recorded a 67% rise in net profits on account of festive boost.
11. IRCTC Q3 net profits plunged to 67%.
12. TVS Q3 net profits rose to 120%. 
13. Maruti Suzuki Q3 net profits rose to 24%.
14. HUL Q3 net profits jumped 19% on account of demand recovery.
15. JSW Steel net profit surges 93% in Q3. 

The following companies showed a decline in their net profits during Q3:

1. CITY Union bank Q3 net profits decline 12%.
2. Adani enterprises net profits decline by 10% in Q3.
3. HDFC Q3 net profits decline by 65%.
4. Chevron falls to a fourth-quarter loss on weak refining charges.
5. Union Bank of India net profits drop 37% in Q3.
6. IndusInd Bank net profits fell 34% in Q3.
7. Indigo reports quarterly loss of Rs. 620 crore.
8. Axis Bank net profits drop 36% in Q3.
9. Bardhan Bank Q3 net profit falls 14%.
10. PVR reports net loss of Rs. 49 crore in Q3. 

The net earnings of companies in Q3 points to economic recovery for India. Some of the companies dealing with the consumer durables and automobiles like HUL, TVS, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors registered a sharp increase in their net profits due to the festive boost that led to the demand recovery in the economy. 

The oil and gas companies like Reliance Industries Ltd. showed a rise of 12% in their net profits during Q3. However, the analysts are concerned over the issue of transparency as the company made a firm decision of not reporting its gross refining margin. The net subscriber of the Info COMM department of Reliance Industries increased to 5.2 million in the third quarter showing the trust placed by the customers in the reliance company (Bhardwaj, 2021). 

Some of the Banks like City Union Bank, HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank have announced their quarterly results which reported a decline in their net profits. This is because of the rising NPAs of these banks which is acting as a major driver for losing the confidence entrusted by the customers in these banks. The shareholders are not receiving the due dividends which are making the banks think of the measures to take care of probable hit on the asset quality for the quarter. 

Forecast for Indian Rupee to Average at Rs 75.50/USD for 2021

With the revision in Forecast for the Indian rupee from Rs 77/USD to average at Rs 75.50/USD, the central banks of both the countries- RBI and the Fed are in the row for a stronger 2021 forecast. This is followed by the expectation that the rupee will trade only slightly weaker over the upcoming near term from the current rupee levels. There was depreciatory pressure built up on the rupee due to the declining terms of trade which arose from a rise in oil prices and central bank foreign exchange intervention aimed at combating the imported inflation (Kumar, 2021).

It is expected that over the longer term, the overvaluation of rupee in real terms in India should aim at exerting weakening pressure for the rupee vis-à-vis the US dollar. In addition to this, the experts of the Indian economy are expecting a 50 basis point cut in the interest rates and repo rates by the RBI which will also add to the downward pressure on the Indian rupee. 

According to the forecast made by Fitch Solutions, there are two factors that will partially offset the effect of depreciatory pressure on the Indian rupee. First, the adoption of the loose fiscal and monetary policy by the US Fed will exert downside pressure on the US dollar in 2021 as well that would ultimately offset rupee weakness. 

Second, the RBI, with a foreign exchange reserve position of USD 578 billion as of December 2020, representing an import cover of around 19 months, will likely intervene to prevent excessive rupee weakness to manage imported inflation to reduce the risk of high inflation derailing India’s recovery in 2021 (Kumar, 2021). 

Dalal Street Cheers Budget 2021 as Sensex Surges 2,315 Points, Nifty Settles at 14,281

While the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2021-22 on the morning of February 1, 2021; the Indian stock market reacted to the proposals she announced on the floor of the Lok Sabha. The Indian equity indices responded to the Union Budget 2021 by breaking up the six-day losing streak as they cheered the announcement of the government’s plan for the economic recovery. As a result, the Nifty was up 646.6 points and settled at 14,281 while the Sensex recorded the best Budget day since 1997 and surged 2,315 points. 

The volume of shares on the NSE was highest on Budget day. All the sectoral indices except pharma recorded a gain of 1-8%. The other broad market indices like BSE Midcap and Small cap rose 2-3%. This is because the markets and investors speculated that the Banks, Materials and Metals sector might be benefitted by the increasing privatisation and spending in the Union Budget. The stock market of Asia gained as well after the COVID-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca agreed to increase their supplies to Europe amidst the worries about the pandemic. 

The manufacturing sector of India also started the year 2021 on a strong note as the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the month of January stood at 57.7, which reflected the strongest improvement in three months. Manufacturing PMI in December 2020 and November 2020 came in at 56.4 and 56.3, respectively (Pachal, 2021).

Top Sensex gainers were  IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj FinServ, State Bank of India (SBI), Larsen $ Toubro, Housing Development Finance Corporation (GDFC) on the Budget day. On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s, Tech Mahindra and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) were the only Sensex laggards as shown in the red colour in the following illustration (Pachal, 2021). 

2021: The year of The Great Reset for Indian Stock Market

The sentiments of the Dalal Street in Mumbai have been largely driven by the geopolitical situation with the new US President Joe Biden taking charge of the largest superpower of the world-USA. The experts are of the view that the improvement in the trade relations between US and India under the new US president and his administration will play a major role in speeding up the economic recovery (PTI, 2021). 

The continuity of the global liquidity in the financial markets and the changing geopolitical situation with Joe Biden taking the charge of the White House will drive global sentiments. The global recovery’s leading variables added that the COVID-19 is not going to disappear just like that, as the outgoing US President Donald Trump suggested to the world in his last speech. Although there are instances of substantial recovery of the economy from the initial depths of economic lockdown, the losses to the macroeconomic variables like GDP and employment around the world are yet to pick up its original pace (Mint, 2021). This will hold true with the releases of vaccines and its availability to the masses. 

For the European Union (EU), navigating the COVID-19 crises has been challenging yet the Europeans stuck together in these difficult times and grew together, forging a more cohesive bloc. In 2021, it is believed that global cooperation will make a strong comeback and the EU will pursue its own strategic autonomy in order to safeguard its citizens and their interests in the coming decades (Mint, 2021). 

In my opinion, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 delivered some of the greatest shocks to the global economies since World War II. The entire economies have been locked down and people adjusted to the new ways of working, studying and socialising. There are millions of people who have lost their jobs and became unemployed as a result of which inequality and poverty soared. The globalised economies acting as lifelines to billions of people worldwide has suddenly become vulnerable, owing to the disruptions of the global supply chains and government strategies to protect the domestic stock market. Given the persistence of COVID-19, the recovery in 2021 will largely depend on how effectively the vaccine is distributed and how the various industry stakeholders will react to the Union Budget 2021-22. The multidisciplinary robust approach will be required to mitigate the ill-effects of the pandemic and to address longer-term challenges posed by climate change. For this current and former political leaders, scholars, academicians, senior policymakers should provide exclusive analyses of the tasks that lie ahead in order to ensure that we are ready to meet the forthcoming challenges. 

References

Bhardwaj, S. (2021, February 2). Q3 Nifty Earnings Point To Recovery For India Inc. Bloomberg Quint. https://www.bloombergquint.com/quarterly-earnings/q3-nifty-earnings-point-to-recovery-for-india-inc

Dhanorker, S. (2020, June 29). What stocks are FPIs, FIIs and DIIs buying and selling? Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/invest/retail-investors-urged-to-stay-away-from-gamestop-inspired-communities/articleshow/80663373.cms

Kumar, S. (2021, January 4). Fitch Solutions revises forecast for Indian rupee to average at Rs 75.50/USD for 2021. Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/fitch-solutions-revises-forecast-for-indian-rupee-to-average-at-rs-75-50-usd-for-2021/story-u0nP8yvh83aeVb77OEz5kO.html

Mint. (2021, January 1). Lessons from COVID-19 pandemic. Mint. https://www.livemint.com/news/world/2021-the-year-of-the-great-reset-11609434044784.html

Pachal, D. (2021, February 1). Budget 2021 Market HIGHLIGHTS: Sensex zooms 2315 pts, ends at 48,600, Nifty at 14,281 as D-St cheered Budget. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/business/budget/budget-2021-market-live-updates-bse-sensex-nse-nifty-stocks-shares-benchmark-indices-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-7169479/

PTI. (2021, January 1). Analysis of Budget 2021. Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/vaccine-covid-situation-geopolitical-trends-budget-to-be-major-drivers-for-indian-equities-in-2021/articleshow/80056883.cms

Roche, E. (2021, January 31). India ramps up exports of covid vaccines to plug supply gaps. Mint. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-a-major-player-at-home-and-world-in-covid-vaccination-drive-11612085153226.html

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Mrs Bector’s Food Specialities IPO or Mrs Bector’s Cremica offered 1.32 crore shares and got oversubscribed very soon witnessing a massive 198.02 times subscription. The window offered to the general public was from 15-17 December 2020. In fact, the craze over their IPO knew no bounds as bids reached over 262.10 crores against the total issue size of 1.32 crore according to the National Stock Exchange. This brand has existed since my childhood days and it made me question how it all came into existence. 

Family History of Mrs Bector’s Cremica

Before 1990

Before one gets confused it needs to be clarified that biscuits and sauces are sold under the brand name “Mrs Bector’s” and bakery products are sold under the name “English Oven”. The founder and creator of this large a company is Mrs Rajni Bector who was born in the city of Karachi but shifted to Ludhiana in Punjab during the 1947 partition. Brought up in the same city and got married at the age of 17, she raised three sons and sent them off to boarding school in Mussoorie. After this, it dawned upon her that all the free time she had could be utilized well and more productively by enhancing her culinary skills. She was very passionate about food and to take it a notch higher she enrolled herself into a course offered by Punjab Agricultural University. 

During 1978, almost 42 years back when women were suppressed by society and looked down upon for stepping into the business sector, Mrs Bector decided to start a small venture in her backyard. Just like any home-cooked food startup, hers relied on word of mouth for the news to spread and soon started receiving orders not just from her friends and family but also from her neighbours with regard to cooking for parties and social gatherings and built a network of her own. 

A startup aims for something higher every day but it was disheartening for the entire family to see their efforts not yielding desirable profits. There was no sign of growth whatsoever and the investments weren’t helping. Dharamvir, Rajni’s husband, took a call of putting all their eggs in one basket and moving ahead with investing big, expanding and commercializing the initiative. With their first bulk investment of Rs.20,000 for the budding company in 1978, Mrs Bector decided to set up a compact ice-cream manufacturing unit in the same backyard to cater to bulk orders.

The 1990s also saw terrorism as a bad phase and the Bector’s ancestral business in Punjab got highly affected for the first time in 107 years of its existence. They decided to not let this setback affect them in any way as Cremica Group had already started making booming profits and was a well-known business worth 5 crores.

1990s LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation)

On July 24 1991, India announced its New Economic Policy (NEP) and named it LPG or Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation model. The main objective was to achieve economic stability through plunging into “Globalization” and to give the economy a new thrust on market orientation. The process of globalization, therefore, was accompanied by a strong dose of Americanization manifest as India opened its arms to big private companies in such symbols as Coca-Cola and McDonalds and spread their influence all over the world.

McDonald’s India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of McDonald’s India Private Limited (MIPL) was incorporated in 1993. From the term McDonald’s, McDonaldization as a concept was derived and can be applied and studied in Indian society. This term was first used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book “The McDonaldization of Society”. He goes on to explain that it is the occurrence of homogenization of cultures when a culture possesses the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. Right before India transitioned into the McDonaldization phase, Mr Akshay Bector came to know that McDonald’s was scouting for local suppliers and therefore wrote a letter directly to their head office expressing his interest to be a part of this venture.

To their surprise the company zeroed down to Cremica for the supply of buns and the partnership was later expanded to liquid condiments, buns and other bakery products as well, this in itself was a huge turning point for the entire family in 1995. They also entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Quaker Oats in 1996, a USA based company, and launched a new brand by the name Quaker Cremica Foods (P) Ltd. They mainly looked after liquid products such as, Mayonnaise, Tomato Ketchup, Milkshake Syrups, Tartar & Sandwich Spreads, and Ice Cream topping which would mainly cater to McDonald’s requirement in India and its neighbouring countries. Mrs Bector also supplied to Burger King. 

Demerger of Mrs Bector’s Cremica

In 2013 there was a paradigm shift and the entire business was divided into three equal parts between Rajni Bector’s sons. An agreement was made between Ajay, Anoop and Akshay where biscuits and bakery business was demerged from the condiments business. Post demerger Akshay Bector decided to go national in retail space by planning an IPO. As a part of the entire settlement process, the PE Firm Motilal Oswal which is known to currently possess a 20% stake in the company will now have a stake in the biscuit business only. Mrs Bector’s also planned to focus more on retailing with time and put more emphasis on the premium segment of the market.

Conclusion

Mrs Bector started her venture in the small backyard of hers by herself when the society was busy harbouring toxic traits of its ancestors, holding women back in whichever way possible, not letting them reach the top. Mrs Bector’s Cremica soon grew into a full-fledged family run corporation bringing joy and pride to the entire country. However, with success and achievements came greater strategic issues leading into a demerger. In my opinion, demerger intertwined with the introduction of IPO and the road ahead seems very exciting but at the same time, it’s a rollercoaster ride. The family is bound to face a new set of highs and lows individually and we can only take a backseat and watch them tackle hurdles, grow and expand to the best of their potential.

Reference

2015, ‘The Cremica Story’, AIMA Journal of Management & Research, Article 13, Volume 9, Issue ¾

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COVID-19: An opportunity to fix the problems in the Tourism Industry  

It was in the month of March when people were busy packing their bags and planning the itineraries to go on a holiday spree that COVID-19 hit the country. This led to the disruption of the global supply chain with all the economic activities coming to a halt. With the restrictions on the movement of people across the international borders in place, domestic tourism emerged as the ‘silver lining’ for the country. Over the years, due to the propagation of the networks, Indians have increasingly become aware of the lesser-known destinations which are the hidden treasures in our geography. The domestic tourism registered a growth rate of around 10 per cent with the number of domestic tourists increasing from 1.05 billion to 1.85 billion from 2016 to 2019. This is in due line with the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign which is started by the Ministry of Tourism to boost domestic tourism (ETTravelWorld, 2020). 

COVID-19, despite its negative effects on the tourism industry, can be turned into an opportunity to fix the problems and challenges that have pre-existed in the industry. As we adapt to the new normal, there is a need to mould India’s tourism industry into the one that is sustainable in the long run. Given the varied recovery plans adopted by the states, the revival strategies will have to be tailored to the specific context (Darbari, 2020). 

Reviving the Domestic Tourism 

The first step to the recovery is rebuilding consumer trust and confidence. As the tourists will be back to travelling with a changed mindset, they need the assurance that all the safety and health standards are in place during their stay which would, in turn, require percolation of the technological innovation in the tourism industry. The COVID-19 gave ample time to the hotels and the tourist places to access their carrying capacity and accordingly devise the strategies to ensure social distancing as people have started to travel again. The proper implementation of the carrying capacity across all the popular tourists’ destination will ensure that people follow the social distancing norms as they spread out and contribute to the livelihood of people who are directly dependent on the tourism.  This will serve the dual purpose of restoring the ecological imbalance caused by over-tourism while boosting domestic tourism in the emerging destinations of the country. 

Every Indian state has regions that are heavily dependent on tourism. These regions should be used as the basis for developing a comprehensive recovery plan for the tourism sector along with the local economy. The various stakeholders such as local government, tourism associations, transport associations, business houses, civil bodies and state government must work together to take proactive measures so that people are aware of the tourist places that exist in their own regions and the historical importance of visiting these places (Siddiqui, 2020). All these stakeholders have to complement each other’s working and focus on making the regional people as the important stakeholder of the industry. The local bodies who constitute these regional people must comply with the Tourism Department of the State and work together in devising the guidelines related to sanitization of the rooms, lodges, hotels and restaurants for sustaining the tourism industry within the vicinity of the region. This will further boost the confidence in the tourists as they will receive better quality services. 

The destinations which are emerging as the tourism hotspots in India are facing challenges in terms of disposal of the waste. The waste is either burnt or left untreated in the landfills which release toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment.  As tourism is resuming, the destinations will see a significant increase in the number of biomedical wastes such as sanitizers, masks and gloves. This disposal will lead to contamination both among locals as well as tourists. In order to stop this contamination, the collection drives should be initiated across the tourist’s destinations of the country so that the biomedical waste is able to reach the nearest recycling centres. 

Tourism is often believed for creating the livelihoods of rural communities through sustainable development. However, it was observed that the tourism policies of India have focused more on the creation of tourists orientated destinations that cater to their demands. For example, Ladakh, known for its natural landscapes and breathtaking views, receives very less rainfall annually and every drop of water is preciously preserved for carrying out agriculture in the area. But the growing domestic tourism which is kept unchecked is leading to the scarcity of the water as the tourists are demanding for running showers during their stay. Thus, there is a growing need that paradigm of the tourism in the new normal should be focusing on creating better places to live first by preserving the traditional style of local communities while they are ready to host the tourists again. In Ladakh, this means restoring the indigenous practices of the local people so that in a world which is suffering from global warming and climate change, we are able to position Ladakh as an ecological paradise which is paving the way for resilience (Nath, 2020). 

The comprehensive network of rural tourism should also be developed wherein the local rural communities are provided with an online platform to sell their products. This will ensure that there is no disruption in the flow of income that is reaching to them in return for their products. For example, the locals who are the owners of the cafes in Himachal Pradesh are selling the ingredients of their dishes like various types of Indian spices that are making its way to the households of the country. Some of the other locals are selling the items like fridge magnets, badges and postcards. People are ordering them to witness these places though virtually. 

The international organizations like United Nations Development Program (UNDP) must work with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the snow leopard landscapes to engage young people, especially women, to create tourism-led enterprises. These enterprises will not only generate employment for the locals in the region but also provide unique solutions to the challenges, especially in the mountain areas. The major challenges include inaccessibility, fragility and marginality. The creation of the enterprises will overcome these challenges by enhancing connectivity to areas with difficult accessibility as the niche tourism destinations will be emerging. The economic incentives will be provided for the preservation of natural and cultural heritage along with the alternatives to work that typically involves drudgery, such as farming. 

As the tourist destinations are reopening their doors for tourism, the potential travelers must come forward to launch an awareness campaign where they will be making people aware on the measures taken by the local people for coronavirus safety based on their interaction with them along with the significance of supporting the livelihoods of the locals while ensuring that the ecological balance of the environment is not disturbed. When people will hear the experiences of travelers and watch their videos, they will realize the importance of the changing paradigm of tourism towards the slow travel destinations. These destinations will see more people spending time in a single spot as they adapt to the new normal and continue to work from home. This, in turn, will give the incentives to the owners of the guest houses, hostels, hotels and homestays to convert their places into workstations that will provide all the facilities including meals, Wi-Fi connectivity, accommodation while enabling people to continue their work from home. These workspaces are located in some of the stunning new locations in India. People can expand their worldview by traveling to these places as they are the emerging new homes for the digital nomads. 

Conclusion

The tourism industry of the country holds an immense potential that needs to be gradually unleashed to create COVID-19 ready destination that is sustainable and resilient in the long run. The destinations will now thrive for achieving the zero-carbon footprint while the enduing proper level of hygiene. The tour operators will be more responsible in sharing the experiences of the local communities to the tourists. Travelers will now have to be more careful while planning their itineraries that will incorporate the ways to deal with the uncertainties as they will step their foot out to embark on a new journey. The traditional philosophies of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ that we have inherited decades ago will invite our citizens and motivate them to explore our own country. 

Bibliography

Ghosh, A. (2020). Post Covid19 strategy to survive the Tourism industry: Indian Perspective. Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 10 .

Nath, S. (2020 , August 3 ). As we emerge into a ‘new normal’, India needs to evolve to create a COVID-ready tourism destination. Retrieved from Firstpost: https://www.firstpost.com/india/as-we-emerge-into-a-new-normal-india-needs-to-evolve-to-create-a-covid-ready-tourism-destination-8662891.html

ETTravelWorld. (2020, May 14 ). Domestic tourism: Silver lining in the post-Covid world. Retrieved from ET Travel World : https://travel.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/destination/states/domestic-tourism-silver-lining-in-the-post-covid-world/75732912

Darbari, R. (2020 , August 24 ). Travel and tourism recovery: a perspective for South Asia and lessons for other regions in the age of COVID-19. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/travel-and-tourism-recovery-south-asia-covid19-pandemic-economy-india-nepal-bhutan-sri-lanka/

Nath, S. (2020, August 3). As we emerge into a ‘new normal’, India needs to evolve to create a COVID-ready tourism destination. Retrieved from Firstpost : https://www.firstpost.com/india/as-we-emerge-into-a-new-normal-india-needs-to-evolve-to-create-a-covid-ready-tourism-destination-8662891.html

Nath, S. (2020 , August 23). Retrieved from Firstspot.

Siddiqui, H. (2020 , August 15). Post-covid travel: Begin by promoting local tourism, prepare road map with private sector, says Gustavo J Segura, Costa Rican Minister. Retrieved from Financial Express: https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/travel-tourism/post-covid-travel-begin-by-promoting-local-tourism-prepare-road-map-with-private-sector-says-gustavo-j-segura-costa-rican-minister/2056051/

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Agricultural labourers are difficult to explain. It is not possible for labourers to emerge as a separate class depending on full wages until capitalism develops in agriculture. Agricultural labour enquiry committee 1950-55 defined agricultural labourer as “those people who are engaged in raising crops on payment of wages“. According to the second committee, if 50% or more of wages is received from the agricultural sector, it can be classed to agricultural labour household. The number of agricultural labour has increased to 27.5 million in 1951. In 1981 the total number of agricultural workers has increased to 55.4 million and again in 1991, the total number of agricultural workers has increased to 74.6 million.

From the beginning, the landlords in this country have enslaved and oppressed these labourers for their own benefit and this system has been going generation after generation. After 50 years of independence, the situation has improved but they remain largely unorganized and thus economic exploitation continues.

Conditions and Problems of Agricultural Labour

As we know that 53% of the population in agricultural India is engaged in agriculture. But all these farmers still have to depend on the monsoon for crop production. Agriculture in India falls under the unorganized sector, so their income is not fixed.

• Marginalization of Agricultural Labourers – In 1951 the workforce in agriculture was 97.2 million and in 1991, it increased to 185.2 million. Agricultural labourers increased from 28% in 1951 to 40% in 1991. These facts indicate the first pace of casualization of the workforce in agriculture in India.
• Low wages and income – The daily wage and family income of agricultural labourers in India is very low. Although wage rates have risen since the green revolution, they have fallen far short of rising prices. At present agricultural workers in the rural area are getting around Rs. 150 per day under the MNREGA in rural areas.
• Gender issues in the agricultural sector – Women in agriculture are affected by issues of recognition and in the absence of land rights, female agricultural labourers, farm widows and tenant farmers are left bereft of recognition as farmers and consequent entitlements. They are excluded from their rights. On November 20, 2018, over 40,000 farmers had gathered in Delhi from across India. Chandravati from Ghazipur and 40 others women participated in Kishan Mukti March for their demand of compensation for the paddy crop that got spoilt in 2018, so as to sustain a livelihood. Female agricultural workers are generally forced to work harder and paid less than their male counterparts.
• Employment – Agricultural labourers are unemployed for most of the year and even have no alternative job opportunities.
• Indebtedness – Due to lack of banking system in rural areas, they are forced to take loans from moneylenders at very high rates. As a result, they often become involved in a vicious cycle.

Policy Implementation of Government of India

Indian agricultural policy has long been distinguished by its border and domestic intervention to protect farmers from international price concerns. To achieve this goal the Government of India has implemented a number of policies at various times –

• Land reforms – Government of India undertakes land reform measures for successful abolition of land intermediaries and transfer of land to actual farmers.
• Institutional credit -After the nationalization of banks in 1969, nationalized bank paid extra attention to the needs of the agricultural sector. Regional rural banks are established mainly for agricultural credit requirements. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was also set up. The importance of moneylenders for the needs of institutional credit to the farmers declined and as a result, their exploitation on the farmers also decreases.
• Procurement and support prices– Another policy measure of significant importance is the announcement of procurement and support prices to ensure fair returns to the farmers that even in a year of surplus, the prices do not tumble down and farmers do not suffer losses.
• Input subsidies to agriculture– The purpose of input subsidization is to use modern input to increase agricultural production. Under this government policy, various inputs are supplied to the farmers below the fixed open market price.
• Passing Minimum Wage Act
• Abolition of bonded labourers
• Providing land to landless labourers
• Provision of housing cities to houseless

Special schemes for providing employment:

• Crash scheme for rural employment (CSRE)
• Pilot intensive Rural Employment Project (PIREP)
• National Rural Employment Programme
• Rural Landless Employment Programme(RLEP)
• Jawahar Rojgar Yojana
• National Scheme of Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSM)
• Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)

Another important government schemes in the agricultural sector-

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched by the NDA government in 2015 to promote organic farming across India. According to the scheme for farmers will be encouraged to groups or clusters and each cluster or group have 50 farmers willing to take up organic farming under PKVY and they will be provided INR 20,000 per acre by the government over three years’ time.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is the Government sponsored crop insurance scheme that provides insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases.
• Livestock Insurance Scheme aims to provide a protection mechanism to the farmers and cattle against any eventual loss of their animals due to death.

Government’s Scheme: Myth or Reality?

How the policies adopted by the government has a positive impact on farmers or completely fail to protect the interest of farmers, as an example, farmers from Vimchur, a remote rural area in India’s Maharashtra province planted large quantities of grapes in March and exported them to various parts of India. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown from midnight of 24th March, he gave India’s 1.3 billion citizens barely for hour notice. It was a cruel joke that had a huge effect on millions of farmers. By that time, a farmer form Vimchur had dispatched 100 quintals of grapes to Bangladesh, but 350 quintals were still on vines in the fields. The Modi government had arranged special jets to bring back all reach people who are stranded abroad. But the train service was completely stopped and the farmers failed to sell their grapes. Even if they arranged a truck, but the permits were not granted despite pleas to the government.

The Indian parliament has passed two primary farm bills in this pandemic year. The upper house passed the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 and the Price Guarantee and Farm Services Bill Agreement for Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) 2020 that are collectively referred as ‘Farm Bills’. This will assist small and marginal farmers as the law will move from the farmer to the sponsor the risk of market unpredictability. On the other hand, in ‘Mandis’ the laws likely to affect powerful commission agents (known as ‘arhatiyas‘ in Punjab and Haryana), who don’t want to lose their hold on the farmers (Sahoo, 2020). Due to the loss of Mandi tax, the strong source of revenue, the state government of Punjab and Haryana will be affected most, however, it is expected that the loss would be recovered under GST collection. The opposition claims the government wants to ‘enslaved farmers’ to capitalism. In response, the government says that monopoly of APMC Mandis will end but they will not be shut down and will continue to function as normal and that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will not be scrapped. Thus the complex question remains whether farmers will benefit from the surplus at all if the crop is sold through a mediating private agent?

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh demand repeal of the controversial farm bill by their ‘Dilli Chalo’ campaign on Constitution Day, 26 November 2020. Police fired water cannons and tear gas at the protesting farmers. A large number of the farmer were oppressed by the government with the assistance of the police to disperse them. However, later the government invited them to have a discussion with them on the bill.

According to the World Bank, about 40% of Indians depend on agriculture for their livelihood but this sector has been under pressure for many years due to crop failure and price drop. A 2015 study found that about 40% of farmers committed suicide due to economic pressure for crop failure. Although the Modi government has introduced Minimum Support Prices for crops, few farmers are benefiting. The government is also in the thick of a controversy over the Prime Minister’s Cropping Insurance Scheme. In the other words, all the policies that the government is adopting in the name of security without planning are in fact nothing more than a myth. In fact, the government’s formulation of all these policies is the only way for farmers to be dependent on the private sector.

Conclusion

For the progress of the agrarian country, first of all, the necessary steps should be taken to improve the condition of the farmers because the improvement of their condition can be conducive to the benefit of the whole society. The government needs to focus on better implementation of legislative measures, improvement the bargaining position, resettlement of agricultural workers, creating alternative sources of employment, regulation of hours work, credit at cheaper rates of interest on easy terms of payment for undertaking subsidiary occupation, proper training for improving the skill of farm labourers. Therefore, in the interest of electoral politics, the ruling class must refrain from oppression in the name of protecting the labourers by using them as tools. In this way, a developed society will be built.

Reference(s)

Padhi, K. (2007).Agricultural Labour in India – A Close Look. Orissa Review

Sahoo, S. (2020). Impact of India’s New Farm Act 2020 on Farmers and Markets. Biotica Research Today, 2(10), 986.

Chand, S.”8 important policy measures introduced in the agricultural sector in India”, Your Article Library, (Dec 1, 2020)

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The trans community, owing to their difference in nature, have been seen as a threat to the core foundation of gender in society. Members of the trans community are collectively called hijras. Most people do not understand the meaning of the term hijra and use it in a derogatory sense. They do not get significant jobs because of the perception that they are unable to perform any. Being a parent of a transgender child is considered shameful and members of trans community are not allowed to marry and bear children.

Since most people in the Indian society and the global arena fail to understand the heterogeneity of gender, they see such trans persons as a threat to the traditions and culture and try to remove them from the society. Shunned, these people are not provided with any basic human, political, and civil rights and do not have any access to the necessities. They also have no access to education or healthcare.

The main issue with the Indian Education System is that they don’t facilitate skill acquisition. While moving further up, many students drop out, which creates a learning gap. Trans persons fall under this category. Many trans students are subject to a lot of bullying owing to their nature, which leads them to drop out of schools and colleges or committing suicide. In India, schools and colleges are not sensitive to trans people. The University Grants Commission and the Central and State Education Boards have to make more policies inclusive of them and make sure that these policies are implemented and that the bullying of the trans students is stopped immediately to facilitate their education.

Another benefit that is not accessible to trans people is healthcare. Trans people are often refused care from various health services. They also face harassment and physical attacks in the hospitals which in turn makes them skeptical to take the help of hospitals and doctors. Many are admitted to hospitals and left untreated. This kind of behavior has scared them and forces them to stay away from healthcare institutions. Apart from this, since they are also derived from education, they are unaware of a lot of important health care benefits and treatments that should be accessible to people in general and them.

Besides these, they are constantly ridiculed and discriminated against, which results in identity issues. They also go through a lifetime of poverty and are subject to human trafficking. They are subject to unemployment and homelessness.

Through time, the trans community, after being an integral part of the LGBTQ community, has protested against this injustice and discrimination. This had made the government create some policies and laws for the trans community.

• The Supreme Court of India recognized the third gender along with the primary genders of ‘male’ and ‘female’. This decision has successfully shattered the dual-gender structure of “male” and “female” that is usually recognized by society.
• The Supreme Court has given certain directions for the protection of the rights of the trans persons by including them in documents like the election card, passport, driving license and ration card, and for admission in educational institutions, hospitals, amongst others.
• Articles 15, 16, and 21, do not allow the violation of discrimination on the grounds of gender.
• The Court recognized the right of an individual to choose how to behave in private and allowed them the means needed to reach their full potential. The Court noted that a person will not realize his abilities and interests if he is forced to accept a gender assigned to him at birth. He should thereby be given the freedom to choose for himself to reach his full potential.
• The Court also protects an individual’s gender expression invoked by Article 19 (1) (a). It upholds that “no restriction can be placed on one’s appearance or choice of dressing subject to the restrictions contained in article 19(2) of the Constitution”.
• Human rights were awarded to them which includes the right to life, liberty, equality, dignity, and freedom of thought and expression.
• The decriminalization of Section 377 of IPC is also a colossal step for solving transgender issues.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 was passed on November 26, 2019, by the Parliament. It is the revised version of the Bill that was passed in 2016 and 2018. The previous Bills were heavily criticized for various reasons, one being that they were not at par with the Supreme Court judgment in National Legal Services Authority. The 2019 Bill attempted to define someone whose gender does not match the one assigned at birth. This bill included transgender persons in the Constitution, thereby including them in our society and providing them with legal human rights. It also prohibited any kind of discrimination and harassment based on an individual’s gender.

The provisions of this bill are:

• It recognizes the 3rd gender after the Supreme Court ruled in the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) judgment that the third gender should be legally recognized.
• It defines a transgender as someone who is partly female or male or a combination of female and male or neither female nor male. It advocates that the person’s gender must not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes trans-men, trans-women, persons with intersex variations, and gender-queers.
• The government must provide the necessary support, like rehabilitation, self-employment, and healthcare.
• The bill prohibits discrimination and harassment against members of trans community and protects them from any kind of violence.
• A strict penalty has been assigned against discrimination, either in public or in private.
• It holds that the members of the trans community must obtain identity proof which is provided by the district magistrate (DM) on the recommendations of medical experts, government officials, and one other transgender.
• A National Council for transgenders is to be set up to protect their interests.

In time, many states have taken certain measures to make the lives of transgenders easy. Some of them are:

• Odisha categorized transgenders under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category which now enables the community to avail of socio-economic benefits, which might otherwise be out of their reach.
• Tamil Nadu constituted the Aravanis Welfare Board in 2008 for providing a pension for the community.
• Kerala came out with a Transgender Policy to help transgenders.

This bill too has been criticized by many and has been a topic of debate and discussion.

The reason why the Transgender Protection Bill was due to the efforts of the LGBTQ Community whose aim was to ensure equality in our society. Yes, this monumental change of the Supreme Court acknowledging the transgenders as any other human is celebratory but we cannot forget that in a world of trillions, some people who do not understand or accept anything other than the binary ideals of gender still walk the earth and attempt to make the lives of such people difficult. Even though the Constitution has passed the Protection of Rights Bill, many civil servants refuse to help transgenders and indulge in violent activities because they do not accept the bill or the existence of such persons. Members of the trans community are still subject to the same amount of harassment as before, if not more. 

Members of the transgender community such as Revathi and Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi have openly spoken about their struggles in their autobiographies to show the world the kind of harassment that every transgender person has to face in today’s world. While many succumb to these inhuman challenges, people like Lakshmi and Revathi have not only fought their battles but are now helping millions of other transgender’s fight as well. Many non-profit organizations have also dedicated themselves to help such people. The usage of terms such as “coming out” or using the term as a hijra only for insults, shows the deep-rooted hatred for such people among us and while many transgenders are moving up in society, the social issues that they face since birth are still probable in society. While the mindset of people is slowly changing, whether a complete change will ever be possible is a point of debate among scholars today. As citizens of India, we should all accept this natural entity even if we fail to understand the mechanisms of it.

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Due to the globalisation and liberalisation of global economies coupled with the rapid advancement in science and communication technologies, there has been an intensification of their socio-economic, political and cultural ties with their countries of origin. Diasporas have attained due importance at the international level as well as in the domestic political and economic affairs of home countries in the present scenario. They have started acting as an ‘inevitable link’ between their home and host lands resulting in major political and economic implications for both.

Diaspora as a Tool of Diplomacy in India’s Foreign Policy

The use of diaspora as a tool of diplomacy in Indian Foreign Policy is a relatively new phenomenon. The Indian diaspora is a major component of these concomitant worldwide and has increasingly become more influential over India’s foreign policy, becoming a highly strategic asset for India in the recent decades. India has been making concerted efforts to engage and leverage upon its diaspora estimated to be about 25 million, the second largest in the world, ranging from a mere 20 in Albania to over 2.2 million in the United States, dispersed in 136 countries.

The efforts of PM Modi regarding Diaspora Diplomacy and in cultivating the relationship with Indian diaspora signifies the importance of soft power in the foreign policy initiatives of the present government. To be fair, diaspora cultivation is not exactly a new phenomenon in IFP; the former governments had also invested a good amount of capital in resolving the underlying obstacles in the implementation of effective interaction between Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) with the Indian government.  

The union government in the year 2000 established a high-level committee on Indian diaspora to review the status of People of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) looking at the laws and rules that are applicable to them. This was an initiative to look at the role NRIs and PIOs may play in the social, economic and technological development of India.  Better rules favouring the PIOs like the ease of travel and stay were implemented and new categories created amongst its diaspora in 2006 for the NRIs, PIOs and Overseas Citizen of India (OCIs). The Indian parliament in August 2005, passed the amendment of Citizenship Act of 1955, allowing certain sections of the diaspora to gain specific citizenship rights. Eventually, there is a growth in outreach activities for the Indian diaspora like conferences and seminars, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Day of Indians Abroad) amongst other initiatives which show a concerted effort by the Government of India to showcase India as a place that is welcoming of its diaspora.

Diasporas: Effective Instrument in India’s Foreign Policy

The importance of diasporas does not end with remittances alone. It extends to knowledge transfer, the sharing of resources, diasporas acting as unofficial Indian ambassadors and pushing for India’s interests abroad. The diaspora has also helped in improving India’s image globally and they undoubtedly have considerable stakes in India’s development.

Diaspora is the oxygen to PM Modi’s foreign policy. Since day one, he has addressed concerns related to the Indian diaspora and makes it a point to address a gathering of Indian diaspora at any foreign visit. The task of such an interaction is to convince the diaspora that they can engage as effective stakeholders in the problems faced by India and that their contribution is imperative for India’s economic development and its rise as a global power. This also acts as a subtle but powerful message to the governments of the host countries. This “Diaspora Diplomacy” is a classic example of how the diaspora can act as an effective instrument of diplomacy in international affairs in the era of globalisation. The diaspora can greatly contribute to domestic economic development and attract FDI to India. Modi’s idea of diaspora diplomacy is to ensure a collective Indian voice in the host countries where they are simultaneously loyal citizens. While the diaspora certainly do not determine policy, they can effectively shape it and act as “bridge-builders” between their home and host countries.

While looking at the effect of diaspora Diplomacy in Indian Foreign Policy, some examples can be cited as diaspora plays a decisive role in the improvement of India’s foreign relations. Historically, India has benefitted from its diaspora. Two instances stand out: lobbying for the US-India Civilian Nuclear Agreement Bill in 2008 and their remittance inflow. The Indo-American community had a significant role to play in improving the image of Indians in the American minds as well as the Indo-US rapprochement. The lobbying efforts of the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) helped to get the Indo-US Nuclear Deal passed by the US Congress. While Bollywood films since Independence have enjoyed great popularity in the Middle East, the development of geo-economics has made the Indian diaspora as an important instrument, interest and indicator of India’s soft power in the region. The Indian expats working in the region contribute significantly to the remittances India receives. PM Modi has capitalised on the need for Middle Eastern countries to look for large markets because of the Shale Revolution and US Retrenchment, increasing India’s engagement with the region. The most important tool for PM Modi’s Middle East adventures has been the Indian diaspora.

However, certain political developments taking place within India do sometimes negatively impact the diaspora, for example, the negative impact of the diaspora is that there are also groups and individuals within the diaspora who continue to support various insurgent groups operating within India, while lending them both moral and material support through hawala operations, money laundering etc. and this can prove to be a colossal security threat for the nation.

Nevertheless, India has a pivotal role to play in world affairs as it is a rising power and a key stakeholder in the security dynamics of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its role in East Asia is taking shape and while India is still not an economic power, its military capabilities, shared interests and willingness to explore beyond its rhetoric have raised expectations banking on its capabilities and the role India can play as an Asian power, in the region and globally. The large populations of Indian expatriates in countries like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia provide India with an opportunity to develop nurturing and more cooperative relations in the region. In the past, diaspora policies have been inconsistent and often poorly implemented, to say in the least. Over the years, however, the diaspora populations have become an increasingly important factor in international relations and politics. The Indian diaspora have a direct engagement and influence on the economies and polities of both the origin country and the host country. This provides for a ripe environment for India to tap on the potential they offer.

Conclusion

However, the present foreign-policy strategy of a strong outreach to the Indian diaspora stands out and must be nurtured. The diaspora can provide the requisite strategic impulse and strengthen strategic relations.  In the present times, the global reach of media and revolutionary changes in communication has helped create diaspora networks and instant connectivity with the motherland. It is important to constantly engage the diaspora and develop policies as the destinies of India and the diaspora are intertwined. Therefore, it serves the interest of both to develop a mutually beneficial relationship and is an important tool for India’s soft power diplomacy which would help India in achieving its aspirations to be a developed country and a knowledge superpower in the international arena.

References

Chaudhury, D. R., & Duttagupta, I. (2020). India steps up Gulf diplomacy for its diaspora. The Economic Times.

Haider, S. (2020). The ambit and the limits of ‘diaspora diplomacy’. The Hindu.

Ok, Y. E. (2018). “DIASPORA DIPLOMACY” AS A FOREIGN POLICY STRATEGY. IFAIR.

Rana, K. S. (2009). India’s Diaspora Diplomacy. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.

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