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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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/

Featured Image By: Indus Dictum

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According to the World Bank, women make up 49.5 percent of the world’s population, however, there are only 3 countries (Rwanda, Bolivia and Cuba) in the world that have 50 percent or more women in Parliament in single or lower houses. It is important to identify why women don’t get into politics to combat these reasons and lead to the betterment of the whole society. 

Social Barriers

Firstly, the underrepresentation of women is caused by social barriers before their entry into politics. The general populace’s ideas of traditionally feminine characteristics are incompatible with the characteristics that people in positions of powers need to have. This does two things – from their childhood, girls are not encouraged to be leaders as much as boys are. They are instead taught to be docile and homely and puts them at a disadvantage from the very beginning. Parents, even today, bring up their daughters and sons in different ways. Since women are never made to believe that they can suit leadership roles, as well as men, can, they become less likely to enter politics. Moreover, this gender stereotyping leads to another phenomenon – when we eventually do see women in power, it causes people “discomfort” due to the mixture of two supposedly incompatible set of characteristics. This sentiment can be summed up by Alexandra Ocasio Cortez’s quote – “The idea that a woman can be as powerful as a man is something that our society can’t deal with.”

Unequal Starting Points

The traditional differences in the way that men and women are brought up also leads to a difference in their professions. Men are much more likely to have better careers and be in more positions of power. For example, there are less than 5 percent of women who head Fortune 500 companies.  This inequality can be a huge hindrance to entry in politics. Resources and money are important to become potential candidates for parties. There is not just a disparity in material resources, but also immaterial resources, such as time (women have to take on the burden of household responsibilities more), self-confidence (due to the earlier mentioned different upbringing for women which doesn’t help build their image as a leader) and networks. 

Often times political parties recruit their candidates from the corporate world. However, this is a field dominated by men which means that they have the upper hand in forming the right networks. This obviously makes it more likely that more men, rather than women enter politics. Moreover, political gatekeepers tend to be most often men who tend to recruit political candidates via their male-dominated networks.  Therefore, the fact that people who are into politics are mostly men kind of creates a cycle that prohibits women from getting into politics. 

Removal of men from political photographs shows the dire need for more women in politics.

Continuation in the Political Field

The gender stereotyping and the way we differently bring up men and women means that even if, despite these hindrances, a woman does get into politics, continuation is difficult. The discomfort that the voter base has with women in power means that they are held to a different standard to those of men. Female leaders are held more accountable than their male counterparts and the media is much harsher on them.

This uneven punishment is because the media and the people involved subconsciously do not think that women are cut out for politics, which makes them tougher on women in case they fail. The media especially can continue to treat female politicians poorly. The way the media presents female politicians shows us that they are not as worthy to be in power as men are, or that their priorities are supposed to be different – they are asked more questions about their families and personal relationships than male politicians are, and have their personal lives invaded. Their appearances are also given more importance than their substance. Despite all of these, some women still rise to enter politics.

Conclusion

Therefore, it is important for us to promote the representation of women in politics. But simply doing this is not enough – it is also important to promote it in the correct way. When we do commend women in politics, we tend to do it through a narrow scope – we view these achievements as individual efforts of exceptional women, whereas the truth is that there are also numerous parties at play here – women in political party backrooms, riding associations and women’s organizations.  Recognizing the efforts of everyone in promoting women’s participation is the first step to make sure we have more women and a better democracy.

Moreover, the discussion of female representation cannot end here. Caste, economic status, sexual orientation are all factors that affect the experiences of women in politics. Women from lower castes or lower economic strata will have a much harder time becoming politically successful. Similarly, the experience of a trans woman or a non-heterosexual woman is bound to be tougher due to ingrained biases. Representation of women in politics does not only help better women’s issues but leads to a betterment of society as a whole – in areas where Indian panchayats are headed by women, the number of drinking water projects was 62 percent higher than in areas with men-led panchayats. This is why it’s crucial to encourage women in politics and facilitate discourse related to this.

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The Green Revolution in India began in 1965 under the leadership of Congress leader Lal Bahadur Shastri, which led to an increase in food grain production, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. This program was introduced as a package since it depended on regular and adequate irrigation, fertilizers, high yielding seed varieties, pesticides, and insecticides. High-yielding varieties of wheat and rust-resistant strains of wheat were the main milestones in this undertaking.

Need for The Revolution

During British rule, the Indian economic condition had been terrible due to exploitation. Thus, after Independence, the weakened country became vulnerable to frequent famines, low productivity and financial instability. In addition, the rapidly increasing population further led to the need to increase agricultural productivity.

Key Aspects of the Revolution

A major aspect of the revolution was in the form of developments particularly in wheat, rice, and maize forms. The foundation is a modern science-based capacity to change the climate so as to establish better conditions for crops and livestock than nature itself can give such as dealing with the dryness, low soil fertility, invasion by pests, and weeds, threats to livestock and many more. It even looked into the energy requirements if more of it is needed to till the land, mechanize and use fossil fuels. The yield increase in the farming systems of the industrialized countries over the last 150 years can be interpreted as the implementation of this paradigm. The green revolution of the 1970s was focused squarely on this, where the improved rice and wheat varieties could benefit from the use of natural inputs that offered good growing conditions. An important part of this transition was the development of socio-economic fostering conditions that opened up for the use of these products and established opportunities to sell the produce.

However, its overall impact remains debatable, as it has been appreciated as well as criticized too by many on various factors. Let us look into the various socio-economic impacts

Regional Disparities

The Green Revolution brought great economic prosperity in its early years. However, this economic prosperity was limited to certain regions such as Punjab, Haryana, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh. The revolution was hence limited to certain parts of India. The reason for the same is the intensive demand for resources required in these modern technologies. Therefore, states which could easily suffice the increased requirement of irrigation systems and other resources were the only ones to benefit from it. This led to regional economic and infrastructural disparities resulting in fast economic development in certain parts while some states show slow agricultural production throughout.

Unequal Distribution of Wealth

The supply and demand mechanisms before the Green Revolution were worrisome as it dealt with two famines in a span of two years which further reduced the supply drastically. Also, the Indian population has been relatively very high which accounted for high demand but very low supply. With the green revolution, the supply took a major increase which reduced agricultural imports. This was due to the new hybrid variety of seeds which could produce more harvest per acre of land. However, this was beneficial for large agronomists who could easily afford these seeds and other mechanization systems along with insecticides and pesticides and soil nutrient requirements.

Small farmers were not able to finance the various seeds and fertilizers and failed to provide the required irrigation levels leading to crop failure or less than optimum produce. Since supply had increased rapidly, the price of crops fell per acre which was beneficial for the large farmers as the quantity sold increased relatively more than the decline in prices. The sufferers were the small farmers who didn’t even have the stock to supply and even the existing prices fell which reduced their incomes.

Moreover, loans were taken for the same but with declining incomes, they fell into a debt trap. This has been significantly responsible for high suicide rates among farmers.

Following the above-mentioned point, it also led to income inequalities, hence widening the gap between the poor and the rich. With income disparities widening, it gave birth to other socio-economic disparities that led to the over-exploitation of the poor

Employment Dynamics

“If the green revolution is regarded as a package consisting of HYV and fertilizers, its contribution to employment has been substantial. Also, tube wells seem to have contributed significantly to the employment of labor….” “The net employment of tractor-use may turn out to be negative when tractorisation of farms is complete. A harvest combine would displace labor on a large scale while its land-augmenting effect would be negligible.”

Billings and Singh, in their studies on the state of Punjab, have found that the use of irrigation increases the demand for labor whereas the use of tractors or wheat reapers reduces the demand for the same.

However, due to inadequate data, it is difficult to assess and analyze the impact of biological-technological innovations on farm labor.

Environmental Harm & Corresponding Consequences

Ecological balance is equally important which was hampered by the introduction of new technologies and methodologies. Loss of soil fertility, erosion of soil, soil toxicity, depleting water resources, pollution, and salinity of underground water, increased occurrence of humanity as well as livestock diseases and global warming are some of the negative impacts of the Green Revolution. Various scientific studies and surveys conducted on fertilizer and pesticide residues over the last 45 years indicate the presence of nitrates, organochlorines, organophosphates, synthetic pyrethroids, and carbamates at a higher level than the permissible limit in milk, dairy products, water, fodder, livestock feeds and other food products.

Moreover, the overuse of urea, a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, has significantly contributed to global warming. These systematic damages could lead to irreversible consequences to the life of people who are benefited just once if timely, adequate, and sustainable measures are not taken up to mitigate the harm done by the Green Revolution. With the implementation of the green revolution policy in the early 1960s, it was hoped that the pattern of rising food grain production would continue. But sharp variations in the production of food grains were observed in later years, causing insecurities for both farmers and consumers.

Nonetheless, it’s not hidden how environmental harm impacts the economic well being of a country in the long run. It might seem productive and lucrative in the short-run however but with its deep-rooted consequences such as acid rain that pose harm to agriculture by altering the acidity of the soil, reduce productivity, and eventually affect overall output. Similarly, other factors too have long term impacts on the economic well being such as added stress on water resources and agricultural production leading to a lack of raw materials for the manufacturing sector.

Conclusion

To conclude, consumers can be considered as the greatest beneficiaries of the Green Revolution. Real prices of the essentials such as rice and wheat reduced significantly in the markets. Food prices throughout Asia declined to owe to the high yielding, cost-reducing technologies built around improved seed-fertilizer-weed control components. This helps to tackle the rising poverty levels since reduced prices benefit the poor more than the rich as a relatively larger portion of income is spent on food by the underprivileged and poor. Also, the rural incomes were seen to improve but for the large farmers only whereas the small and marginalized farmers suffered. The productivity also improved but just for those who were privileged enough to have access to money as well as natural resources. It has also been reported that with the construction of tube-wells, flour mills, and threshers, the drudgery of women had been significantly reduced. Moreover, in many studies, it has been reported that gender-based bias further deepened with the development of the revolution.

ALSO READ: AGRICULTURAL LABOUR IN INDIA AND THE FARM BILLS

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Historical Context

Observations have shown that with the onset of the Age of Discovery in Europe, increased interest of Russia and China in Central Asia somewhat led to the breaking away of India’s connections with the region. Even after Independence, India’s foreign policy majorly focused on its immediate neighbours, or solidarity-based relations with the African countries, or even robust economic ties with Russia — but, the partitioning of the Indian subcontinent and the distancing of the region geographically did play a role in the deterioration of the relations with the region from India.

Further, in the post-Cold War era, after the Soviet Union split Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the 1990s, India took upon the task of developing its relations with the resource-rich region while also undertaking its own domestic economic reforms of bringing about liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation. Former Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao visited four out of the five republics – Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 1993, followed by Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in 1995. In addition to the collective values that India shared with the countries, collective development and economic growth, as well as formulating approached to combating common threats such as terrorism, religious extremism, and crime that these nations shared with India. A few experts also believe that the stage which was set by these conversations was even reflected in India’s Look North policy of recent times. 

Despite the historical links with the Central Asian Economies and India moving quickly to establish diplomatic ties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan after their emergence as independent countries almost three decades ago, trade has not grown beyond $2 billion, with them. In recent years, foreign-affairs analysts have begun observing what they call the “New Great Game” in Central Asia — Russia, the US, European Union (EU), China, Turkey, Iran and India are all trying to assert their power and hegemony in the region. Not only does the region provide for a large market, but it also has prospects for developing hydropower, fossil fuel resources, and other lucrative prospects. According to experts, India, for its part, has so far chosen to take the ‘constructivist’ approach. This entails a strategy of, interests are not solely based on economic or strategic benefits but attempt to involve an intersectional and even culture-oriented involvement.

Current Developments

India’s continued interest in Central Asia can be attributed to the geopolitical relevance of the region due to three factors — Chinese presence and influx in the region through its expansionist infrastructure projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a continued historical context of Russia’s dominance in the region, and the overall regional security dynamic. Keeping these in mind, India had unveiled its Connect Central Asia Policy in Bishkek in 2012 in order to draw attention to the expansion of the region’s economic interests in congruence with India’s plans of integrating its external neighbourhood.

The lack of connectivity of India with the region of Central Asia has been a long withstanding issue in this context. For instance, the long-delayed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was first proposed in the mid-1990s and all four actors officially signed an intergovernmental agreement in 2010. But, since then, the project has been stalled due to the status of Afghanistan and mistrust between India and Pakistan.

To combat this connectivity gap, India has undertaken positive action in the past as well quite recently. India, Iran and Russia signed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) agreement which aimed to offer connectivity between India and Central Asia through Iran. As is noted by this resource, while the INSTC is routed via Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, India has also explored the possibility of connecting with Central Asia via Iran’s Chabahar port and thereafter overland corridors passing through Afghanistan. The importance bestowed by India to the Chabahar port, despite the uncertainties which the US-Iran tensions bring to the conversation, can be accorded by the budgetary allocation to the project, which is amounting to INR 1 Billion in 2020-21 announcement.

Way Forward

Since China has been able to leverage its geography, finances and population to ensure that its projects can contribute toward making its dream of a new and improved Silk Road a reality, India is also committed to expanding the scope of its economic relations with the region. India has immense potential in developing small and medium scale industries in the region which is presently being provided through India’s program of ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation). The ITEC programme covers information technology, management, journalism, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and banking. New Delhi also signed the Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPA) with three of the five nations of the Central Asian Economies — Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — in order to stimulate defence cooperation and deepen trade relations.

As a report in a Russian newspaper observed, “Indian presence in the region should balance the growing Chinese influence and prevent it from becoming the region of Beijing’s undivided dominance.” This idea can be brought to effect by India by leveraging its membership at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

India and the Central Asian Economies can prioritize energy, pharmaceuticals, automotive, agro-processing, education, urban infrastructure and transport, civil aviation, IT and tourism sectors to strengthen economic links. The Central Asian economies and India have had a long history of association which can be efficiently revived to mutual benefit by the means of strategic and economic cooperation and connectivity, both notions that can be leveraged by the stakeholders in a post-pandemic world.

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Talking of political culture, people in Eastern Europe are still characterized as having less personal autonomy, less responsibility as citizens and members of a global community. In some cases, people also struggle with seriously disturbing national and social identities.

Source: PEW FORUM

As far as economic efficiency is concerned, east European countries have made remarkable progress in the past years, but this progress isn’t enough. The differences in per capita income, productivity and efficiency, output, capitalization, savings, investment, integration into global networks are still huge.

Trading and Colonisation

One historical factor in the development of west European nations is the influx of wealth associated with its sea trade and exploration. Their favourable locations on the Atlantic and Mediterranean gave them advantages in trade and exploration through the sea route with minimal cost. The colonization of lands in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania by several Western European countries brought a huge influx of wealth and resources, which stimulated the economies of these countries. These resources made them global superpowers as early as the 16th century. The effects of colonisation are still being felt in these countries.

Division of Germany

In the aftermath of World War II, defeated Germany was divided into four zones by the allied powers. The Soviet Union occupied the east, while the rest of Germany was divided amongst the United States, Britain and France. With hundreds of thousands of wealthy American soldiers posted in West Germany and spending their American currency, the area flourished. The Deutsche Mark was introduced in 1948 which added to the region’s growth. In the 1950s and 1960s, West Germany experienced industrial growth and low inflation contributing to their prosperity. The security of private property rights and reliance on the price mechanism also contributed to the success of these economies.

Much of the European side of the Second World War happened in Eastern Europe, in today’s Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic countries, the Balkans and Russia. These countries were utterly ravaged. Russia and Germany stole many assets. The Soviets literally dismantled many factories and took many industrial machines East. In addition to this, East Germany inherited highly specialised industrial districts, which were cut off from their major suppliers of inputs as well as their market which was in western Germany. This caused a departure of skilled labour and a number of small and medium-sized firms.

Communism

East Germany, under the authoritarian rule of the Soviets, saw much worse conditions than its Western counterpart. When the rest of the world experienced strong economic growth after World War II, the nations of eastern Europe suffered due to socialism which caused shortage of resources, a highly politicised system and a regressive attitude to progress. Soviets neglected the economy and focused on military power causing an economic crisis. Western Europe, not being the vassal state of the USSR for 40 years probably made a difference.

To start with, Eastern European nations weren’t that developed as they have mostly been the borderlands between various empires. Apart from some exceptions like Hungary, they were Russian hinterlands, not real centres of development, industrial or otherwise.

Communism was ultimately very inefficient. There was no incentive for work as individuals knew that the reward will be the same. Accumulating wealth was not really possible. It led to stagnation in economy, technology and culture. It was the mix of the intense poverty, injustice and the presence of absolute anarchy that crippled these economies.

Marshall Plan

America supported western European countries with aid to stop communism from spreading during the years of the cold war. Dollar aid enabled recipient nations to eliminate raw material shortages in exchange for trade liberalisation. The resource funds allowed governments to finance public projects without the need to cut back on welfare spending.

The U.S. provided $13.3 billion in assistance between 1948 and 1951 to 16 Western European countries through the Economic Cooperation Authority. The Marshall Plan helped in reviving the western economies by controlling inflation, reviving trade, restoring production and rebuilding infrastructure. The Soviet Union rejected the aid on behalf of eastern Germany.

When the Marshall Plan ended in 1951, industrial production, trade and exports had increased far above pre-war level. Employment and standard of living were rising. Politically, communist parties lost influence everywhere.

It encouraged the economic integration that led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community among six nations in 1950. It took a leap into a more integrated European Economic Community (EEC) after eight years. It finally became what is called the European Union today. This integration helped the nations to revive their economies through trade.

Demographic Dynamic

The population density in the 19th century was much more in Western Europe more than Eastern. In addition to that, across Western Europe, the casualties of war were offset by natural population growth and post-war mass migration. The impacts of the war and the post-war settlement were different for the eastern and western regions. The population growth was scanty in Eastern Europe which deprived it of flexible labour supply that has been recognised as an imperative factor in western reconstruction and development.

In the Eastern Front, millions fled west, running from the advancing Soviet troops. The effect of war casualties combined with the post-war settlement was devastating. The populations of Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia stagnated in the 1940s. Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the Soviet Union faced a population decline over the same period. The shortage of skilled labour proved to be detrimental. The province of Prussia was temporarily depopulated resulting in its industrial districts losing their pre-war labour force level.

The war left a distorted demographic structure with a shortage of able-bodied young men. Conventionally, they were the one who constituted the backbone of the industrial workforce. It all brought the region an excess of industrial and commercial enterprises without their original owners, the necessary skills and managerial know-how required to operate them.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a concrete barrier that cut across and divided the city of Berlin from 1961 to 1989 and was constructed in the aftermath of World War 2. The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolised the fall of the ‘Iron Curtain’ that divided the Eastern countries from Western Europe during the Cold War.

East Germany was provided with aid of around €1.6 trillion by the government and private German businesses to bring it at par with the West. The dismantling of the wall had a profound impact on the neighbouring economies as well. Hungry and Czechoslovakia opened up their borders and allowed East Germans to take refuge in Austria. The influx of people meant the economies of neighbouring countries took a hit.

Shortly after the collapse of the Wall, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the party which was in power in the East also came to an end. Unemployment escalated to extremely high level and the economy was thrown into uncertainty. Those who had government jobs found themselves suddenly out of work. The GDR economy also faced bankruptcy due to the change of currency. Before the reunification of the two regions, 1 Deutsche Mark was the equivalent of 4.5 GDR Marks.

When eastern countries joined the EU, it made it easier for the Western companies to buy up assets in the east. Some also took advantage of the cheap labour market and started companies. Eastern European companies found it challenging to compete with gigantic Western corporations who could afford to undercut prices. In certain industries, prices were set for a certain amount of time so that Eastern European companies could not undercut Western companies which took away their advantage and eventually many Eastern European companies went bankrupt.

Agrarian Economy and Raw Material Exporter

When Western Europe started on the path of capitalist development, the Eastern part of the continent was transformed into an exporter of raw material for the West and an importer of finished goods. The result was a never-ending loop that strengthened Western industries and system that promoted capitalism. Specifically, as the West became more urban, there was a growing demand for agricultural goods, animals and other raw goods. East European people satisfied this need by transforming their domains into farms that exported for the Western market. With the exception of what became the Czech Republic, most of Eastern Europe became more agrarian and therefore poorer than much of Western Europe.

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Current Situation

Over time, the process was expected to create a robust global economic powered by the mutual economic and social cooperation. However, this expectation soon became a distant concept as the world’s economy struggled to overcome disturbances caused by a number of political and economic setbacks that permanently disturbed the socio-economic fabric of society. Most recent of these events being the novel Coronavirus. The crises we face today is unlike any other we have experienced earlier, forcing us to question the existing international systems, and with that the concept of globalisation. On the other hand, there are those that have come to coin the present situation as, ‘Globalisation’, signalling a return to globalised world post the pandemic. There exists no doubt about the fact that the Globalisation has connected not only industries and business, but it has done away with social, economic and political borders, that has allowed for the free flow of intellect, capital and resources. While this has acted to the benefit of many nations, a number of people have been extremely vocal about the fact that the process has enhanced the vulnerabilities of nations by making them over-dependent on the global supply chain. Loopholes and drawback of this nature have been further highlighted by the COVID 19 pandemic, as underdeveloped and developing nations have been left struggling to meet the demand of essential items such as masks, sanitisers and medicines. In the past few months itself, we have recorded a 13-32% decline in merchandise trade, a 30-40% reduction in FDI and 44-80% reduction in International air travel. 

Future of Globalisation

Seeing the present situation, that has resulted in a major role back on the gains made by globalisation in the previous two decades and a fundamental collapse of the international market integration, many have come to envision the world in the post-pandemic days. The most obvious answer to these questions seems to be that, leader shave to plan for and shape a world where both globalisation and anti-globalisation pressures remain enduring features of the business environment. 

It is too early to say, if whether the world is done and dusted with the concept of Globalisation. However, recent statistics and forecasts, predict that the concept should be in currency following the end of the pandemic. However, the nature of the same might be different from what we have experienced previously. The pandemic that had a universal impact, left all national economies in shackles, then whether it be the United States or some of the richest European nations. The economic recovery has been the top priority for all countries. However, such robust economic growth can only be pursued once the pandemic has been brought under control. Viewing the economic trends prior to the pandemic, it is clear that globalisation is an important agent in the growth and health of nations. Countries higher up in the DHL Global Connectedness Index tend to record faster economic growth. There is well-founded evidence to the fact that well-connected countries have a more advanced medical system, making them less susceptible to infectious diseases and put them in a better place to deal with the same. This goes to show that the negatives of globalisation, can just as easily be turned into positive contributions, by investing in health, growth and international cooperation. 

Global Growth

The COVID 19 pandemic has added fuel to the fire, by further destabilising an already fractured world. The pandemic introduced new levels of complexity, an example of which is the national restrictions and differing government response policies, which have further highlighted the differing ideological grounds. However, it is but natural to assume from here on forth that the global socio-economic environment will be driven more by factors based on regional competition, domestic self-sufficiency and when it comes to transnational companies and organisations, the country of their origin will decide the nature of policies they will adopt. Even as the lockdown restrictions have begun to ease we have seen that short distance and domestic trade have recorded a stronger comeback than international trade, hence the importance of regions should not be underplayed and the possibility of stronger domestic and regional trade flows should not be completely forgone while envisaging a new world order.

Technological Advancements

As the pandemic disrupted the status quo, forcing us to adapt to and adopt new ways, it invariably led to the creation of new technology and adoption of e-commerce, videoconferencing and robotics. Before we were faced with the challenge of dealing with a world pandemic, it was a commonly held belief that strides in technological development may not lead to an increase in global flows. However, recent times are a complete antithesis to that belief, as the cross border, e-commerce has come to expand export opportunities for smaller companies, and forced experimentation with remote work could spur more service offshoring. In planning ahead, for the post-COVID 19 scenario, business leaders have to think creatively by taking a structured approach to consider both internal and external implication. For most companies, technological trends should lead to more globalisation in some areas and less in others, rather than a uniform shift in one direction or the other.

Public Perception

Public Opinion towards globalisation has taken a hit, calling back the strong support trends as international trade and immigration had received in the last two decades in particular. The fact that international travel has led to the spread of the virus and the increasing economic stress has resulted in trade protectionism, politicians have used this in their favour to consolidate support against globalisation and the evils that it has introduced into our polities. In these uncertain times, citizens and more important customers and employees have turned to corporate leaders to make a statement regarding globalisation. The rise of anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements, as the virus spreads globally has further complicated the role of businesses in the public debate about globalisation. The need of hour requires us to focus on the real economic contributions and how they can help support a healthier form of globalisation. 

Conclusion

A tremendous challenge lies ahead of us, to transform the current world order by regulating and weakening the burdens of globalisation. As the days have passed it has become clearer to us that we have to create a mechanism to respond to diseases through effective international cooperation, without retreating back to the evil of ethnocentrism. Covid-19 effect on the globalisation can be seen more as a bend, rather than a permanent break. Attention to the drivers of globalisation, can lead and navigate companies through and even profit from the turbulence. It is now that the value of globalisation in the form of international cooperation can be portrayed to ensure a suitable and stable future.

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With that framework, the minority population established segregation among housing, education, and all spheres of life, creating three nations: one of the whites [comprising of people groups essentially of British and Dutch [Boer] family line, who battled for ages to increase political supremacy, a battle that arrived at its violent peak with the South African War of 1899–1902); one of the blacks (comprising of such people groups as the San hunter and gatherers of the north-western desert, the Zulu herders of the eastern levels, and the Khoekhoe ranchers of the southern Cape districts); and one of “Coloureds” (blended race individuals) and ethnic Asians (Indians, Malays, Filipinos, and Chinese).

The politically-sanctioned racial segregation system was despised and even fervently opposed by much of the world, and by the mid-1980s South Africa ended up among the world’s pariah states, the subject of financial and social blacklists that influenced pretty much every part of life. In the need compelled to stand up to the unsound idea of ethnic separatism in a multicultural land, the South African government of F.W.de Klerk (1989-94) started to rescind politically-sanctioned racial segregation laws. That procedure thusly set moving a change towards universal suffrage and true electoral democracy, which finished in the 1994 election which the appointed the long-imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela. This change witnessed the nation gaining social equality in a brief timeframe. South Africa has three cities that serve as its capital: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). 

ECONOMY

The economy of South Africa took a drastic turn in the late 19^th century when jewels and gold were found there, followed by large investments from foreign capitals. In the years after World War II, the nation formed a much-developed manufacturing base and encountered exceptional development rates, and at that time its development rated were most noteworthy in the world.

However, South Africa has encountered economic problems since the late 1970s because of the apartheid policies which led may countries to holdback investments and to impose international restrictions against it. South Africa’s economy didn’t quickly bounce back in the mid-1990s while apartheid was being disassembled, as capitalists held on to perceive what might occur. After the 1994 democratic elections, the investments poured in. Post-apartheid South Africa was then confronted with the issue of incorporating the recently disappointed and mistreated greater part into the economy.

In 1996 the legislature made a five-year plan—Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR)— that concentrated on privatization and the evacuation of trade controls. GEAR was successful in accomplishing a portion of its objectives yet was hailed by some as establishing a significant framework for future financial advancement. The government additionally executed new laws and projects intended to improve the monetary circumstance of the underestimated larger part. The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was introduced, it aimed to increase employment opportunities for those who were characterized under apartheid as black, coloured, and Indians, enhancing their working skills and incomes. This strategy was further extended through the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act of 2003, which attended to gender, social and racial inequality.

RESOURCES AND POWER 

South Africa is plentiful in an assortment of minerals. Other than diamonds and gold it also has a reserve for iron ore, platinum, manganese, chromium, copper, uranium, silver, beryllium, and titanium. Despite the fact that manufacturing has provided employment for decades, contributing towards the Gross Development Product (GDP) than mining, the mining segment keeps on shaping the centre of the South African economy as it holds companies to invest in other economic activities. Gold remains the most significant mineral—South Africa is the world’s largest producers—and stores are enormous; in any case, creation is gradually declining, and costs have never risen to their stupendous highs of the mid-1970s.

EDUCATION 

Since 1994, South Africa has made incredible walks in understanding the right to education, quickly fabricating an effective, available and quality education system for youngsters and youths. This outstanding advancement has been recorded over the three parts of fundamental training in youth improvement, primary and secondary education. However, notwithstanding these accomplishments, the possibilities and openings stood to kids in South Africa are still generally dependent upon which side of the inequality they were born. Poverty and Inequality stay cruel determinants, forestalling such huge numbers of kids from getting to the fundamental education that they deserve.

From birth to the last year of high school, kids born in poor family face a lot of challenges, which their co-students coming from a wealthy background may not. While access to ECD centres has expanded, the nature of learning and development programmes remain at test. An underqualified workforce paired with the poor implementation of the learning programmes sways ECD results. While giving quality learning and basic education has its difficulties, keeping youngsters in school to finish their education is another. A little more than a fourth of South Africa’s total children drop out of school before the finish of Matric – most of whom are from helpless territories and defenceless against various boundaries to education. This disparity of access is compounded by a sexual orientation imbalance that impacts little youngsters particularly.

SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is answerable for South African foreign policy strategies. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducts contact with foreign governments and international associations on all issues influencing official relations. These relations are led through foreign government authorities, through representatives licensed to South Africa, and through South Africa’s authorized embassies, departments, and different missions abroad. Until the mid-1990s, the DFA and the conciliatory corps went up against various counter-establishment “strategic administrations” run by antiapartheid associations in a state of banishment, particularly the ANC. The point of these equal correspondence channels was to disconnect the South African government inside the global network as a method for forcing Pretoria to abrogate apartheid. 

After the abrogation of apartheid and the initiation of the democratically chosen Government of National Unity, South Africa’s foreign relations significantly transformed. The nation’s discretionary segregation finished, and existing relations with different nations and with international associations improved. South Africa restored discretionary and trade relations with numerous nations, especially in Africa, and set up new relations with some previous approvals “hardliners”, for example, India, Pakistan, Bahrain, Malaysia, Jordan, Libya, and Cuba. A few provincial and international associations welcomed South Africa to join or to renew its membership, including the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the United Nations (UN).

In addition, South Africa participated in international and bilateral sport, academic, and scientific activities, often for the first time in decades. Relations with the nations of the previous Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe improved. South Africa had full political binds with thirty-nine nations in 1990; that number expanded to sixty-nine out of 1993, and to a maximum of 147 in 1995. Various foreign policies were brought into action before Nelson Mandela was appointed as President in 1994, for example, in mid-1994 de Klerk and Mandela, alongside the leaders of Botswana and Zimbabwe, interceded a conclusion to a military revolt in neighbouring Lesotho. In mid-1994, South Africa gave its first help to a UN peacekeeping activity when it provided medical clinic hardware for Rwanda. Likewise, in 1994, President Mandela consented to help settle the unmanageable common war in Angola, although he advised against unrealistically high expectations in this and other profound established political and ethnic clashes.

INDIA- SOUTH AFRICA RELATIONS

India’s relationship with South Africa is both fundamental and remarkable, going back a few centuries and is tied down in common ideals, ideas, interests, and icons – like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. In any case, their respective relationship stayed stressed for quite a while because of South Africa’s apartheid government. After its independence, India began its struggle for the position at international associations like United Nations (UN), Commonwealth, and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and was the main nation to have trade relations 1946, and in this way forced political and financial assets. Following a hole of four decades, India restored exchange and business ties in 1993, after South Africa finished its standardized racial isolation. In May 1993, a Cultural Centre was opened in Johannesburg. In November 1993, strategic and consular relations were re-established during the visit of then South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha to India. The Indian High Commission in Pretoria was opened in May 1994. In 1996, India opened its permanent Office of High Commission in Cape Town, which was re-assigned as Consulate General of India in 2011.

India and South Africa’s shared basic encounters and aggregate quality have formed how the two of them see the world together. As two countries who have shared their battle to independence, the obligation to improve the lives of others is inserted inside India and South Africa’s consciousness. After South Africa established democracy in 1994, it was the Red Fort Declaration on Strategic Partnership among India and South Africa, marked in March 1997 by then PM Shri Deve Gowda and Nelson Mandela, which set the boundaries for a revived relationship. The twentieth commemoration of marking of the revelation was honoured by an India-South African social spectacle involving music and dance performances, and an occasion composed by High Commission of India, Pretoria on April 9, 2017. This Strategic Partnership between the two nations was again re-certified in the Tshwane Declaration (October 2006). Both these announcements have been instrumental components that have contributed in the past to both South Africa and India for accomplishing their national objectives.

List of MoUs signed during the 10^th BRICS Summit, signed between India and South Africa were;

• Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India and the Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa on Agricultural Research and Education.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Government of the Republic of South Africa and Government of India regarding the setting up of the “Gandhi Mandela Centre of Specialisation in Artisan Skills” in South Africa.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Space Research Organisation and the South African National Space Agency on Cooperation in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes.

South Africa can use its diplomacy not only at governmental but also as a non-governmental level. Utilizing scholastics and specialists outside of government to “include” information and ability to South African discretion, have gotten progressively normal. It is to be trusted that this training will proceed to help give what is expected to compelling interest in an inexorably intricate world. Thorough training of professional diplomats is, however, not unimportant either, and such persons should be retained for the foreign service to establish an ever-growing pool of experience in the DFA. These are on the whole parts of the “small scale level” of strategy and fundamental if the nation is to prevail at the global level. 

Moreover, thought should be given to the decision of various types of diplomacy and their blend; an inappropriate decision can have genuine results, as the Nigerian debacle would delineate. The topic of what balance ought to be kept up among respective and multilateral discretion has been raised; summitry should be utilized wisely; a fitting job for innovation in diplomacy should be discovered; the degree to which the nine areas or locales in South Africa can be permitted to lead their foreign relations should be considered; and, troublesome decisions should be made in regards to accentuation on various regions. Prioritising in diplomacy appears to be unavoidable as the conceivable outcomes are practically unfathomable, though the assets are quite restricted. This isn’t a difficult extraordinary to South Africa. 

The South African government is no world-exhausted system which has seen everything previously, but a youthful, excited organization anxious to show its gifts and beliefs. The government believes in the excellencies of relationship, co-activity and human qualities. It has understood that the present chiefs should be acceptable ambassadors who can adjust domestic and international pressure, who can make arrangements, and resolve debates, characterizing the interests of their states in harmonious manners.

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CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LINKS

As vast the relationship between India and Maldives is, there are a few special characteristics which define the relationship in a summarized sense. First, talking about the cultural relationship, mention has to be made of the immense use of soft power by India to advance its relationship with the Maldives. The cultural development between the two countries has come from various forms of capacity building. India has assured a good relation with Maldivian students and provided them with a high level of skills training and capacity building. Scholarships and easy access for them is a key positive in the relation between the two countries. The Maldives has based its economy highly on tourism and India has not shied away from help. The Indian Cultural Centre was established in July 2011 in Male and it has brought the countries much closer than before. The Indian diaspora in the Maldives forms a crucial part of the population in the Maldives with a population of around 26,000. Around 30% of the doctors and 25% of teachers are of Indian origin.

This sustenance of Indians in the Maldives has increased the spread of their respective cultures. Even though cultural relations have been always on the rise, the economic and political relations are also to be considered. Politically talking, India has always stepped up whenever there is uncertainty within the Maldives. The 1988 Operation Cactus was the biggest example of Indian aid in times of a crisis. Back in 88, 80 armed militias from the PLO of Tamil Eelam had landed in the island country and had been working on taking over the government. India sent troops and was able to eliminate the threat. This brought the two countries closer than ever. After that, in 2014 during the water crisis in Male, India sent its ships to help produce freshwater. The most recent political crisis was back in 2015 when the first democratically elected president of Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed was arrested on terror charges. India along with the US voiced their displeasure on the arrest. The new President Abdulla Yameen had strained the relations with India, claims the current foreign affairs minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid. After Yameen’s defeat in 2018, the political relations were again restored. Maldives FM says that he is confident of the positive relations and this restoration was visible during the COVID crisis.

India, at the very start of the crisis, provided 6.2 tonnes of medical-aid to the Maldives, followed by constant medical and pharmaceutical help.  The economic relations are even more in-depth and have been helpful for both countries. The 1981 Comprehensive Trade agreement has helped the Maldives prosper in the years. Annually, bilateral programmes have been agreed upon where development of infrastructure, health, communication and labour has prospered in the Maldives. Coming back to the 1981 agreement, the export of essential commodities, which was initially modest, have now reached new highs. In 2014, trade stood at 677 Cr Indian Rupees and in 2019 India’s export to the Maldives stood at 212 Million dollars, which clearly shows how trade has developed in the past few decades.

COMPLICATIONS WITH THE ENTRY OF CHINA

In the friendly relationship with India, China entered as a wild card, with the exceptional claims of helping the Maldives grow, economically and infrastructure wise. Once, Yameen came into power in 2014, he made sure that there was a lack of cooperation with India and an inclination towards China. The successive government has accepted that Yameen tried to play both India and China but failed spectacularly. This connotation is partly true. Back in 2014, as a part of its Belt and Road Initiative, China offered loans to the Maldives to help them develop infrastructure. The lack of foresight has come back to haunt the Maldives who had created a huge debt. Currently, the government says that they still owe $600M and with an economy highly dependent on tourism, in the time of a pandemic, find it very difficult to pay the debt off. Reaching this position was difficult as well. It was Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who had put his ‘Neighbour First’ policy into good use by providing the Maldives $1.4B in financial assistance. The situation of Maldives can be seen in parallel to that of Sri Lanka. India’s southern neighbour also took a loan from China to increase its infrastructural capabilities but when it was unable to pay back the loan, China got a 99-year lease over a  crucial Lankan port.

One could say that India has saved the Maldives from a similar situation but the future is known to none. The current Maldives Foreign Minister has said that they will be reconsidering their current agreements with China.  Nonetheless, he has also at times stated that Beijing has been very generous in social development projects, mainly in the housing sector. In terms of rethinking, Maldives wants to bring China to the negotiation table to find a way out and pave the way for future partnerships. Keeping in mind the previous agreements playing highly in Chinese favour, such future partnerships do not sit well with the Indian government who has expressed concerns. Nonetheless, the Maldives foreign minister has always claimed that India is the closest friend of Maldives. At this point, it can be inferred that China is a short term partner of Maldives, whereas India has always been considered a long term ally. India cannot throw caution in the wind and start diplomatic cold war with the Maldives to force its way out of Chinese relations. For a country like the Maldives, having strategic partners in the geographical proximity is the way forward. They also claimed that the Maldives will be looking to develop relations not only with India and China but also the USA and UAE. India will need to keep Maldives’ natural growth in mind in its future endeavours with the Maldives.

CONCLUSION

India’s relationship with the Maldives has been a natural one for decades and except for a few hiccups in between, it is widely claimed that India is the most crucial partner of Maldives. India needs to realise this and assure long term stability with them. India also needs to keep in mind that the Maldives will be growing in terms of diplomatic power by trying to increase its bilateral partnerships. At this point, India needs to continue doing what it has been for the past few decades and sustaining a long term partnership won’t be difficult. The Indian government needs to keep in mind what Maldives FM thinks the relationship is based on. He says, “It is not a relationship based on size or economy, but one based on ideas and principles.”

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Past Challenges

The economic and social exploitation of the continent’s resources for decades along with horrendous violence and poor administration by corrupt leaders leading to widespread poverty and untimely deaths, which could have been prevented, has greatly contributed to its present economic scenario of Africa. Africa has witnessed one of the biggest cruelties of humanity, slavery. African slaves were supplied to American plantations which not only led to the loss of welfare due to denial of basic Human Rights but also hindered progress due to scarcity of labour in Africa. The anti-slave legislation solved the problem of scarcity and brought about a major change in the continent that led to the expansion of tropical agriculture in the economy.

However, that did not guarantee good days for Africa because, soon, they came under Colonial Control. The colonizers plundered their resources, worked them to death, impeded growth and development, and projected Africa as an economically weak continent in the global economy. They employed Africa’s necessary resources in the production and export of cheap primary commodities and raw materials only, which forced them to import the expensive manufactured goods which caused unequal trade transactions and greatly increased the trade deficits. The colonial rule has had serious long-term consequences on the economy of Africa and has greatly contributed to the underdevelopment of the continent.

Africa’s commendable growth potential is evident from the way it has bounced back from decades of torture and exploitation and maintained a somewhat average growth rate of 5% since 2000 in the Sub-Saharan region. This shows that Africa has the capability to increase and sustain its growth despite facing adverse conditions.

Present Scenario Due to the Pandemic

Despite not achieving the desired growth in 2019, forecasters were hopeful about the acceleration of growth at a stable rate, with an increase to 3.9% in 2020. However, due to the sudden onset of the pandemic, all prior forecasts have been rendered futile. New predictions state a sharp contraction in the Real GDP by 1.7% in 2020, indicating a 5.6% fall from the previous forecasts. These predictions are valid only for the short-term impact of the virus. If it were to last beyond the first quarter of 2020, then GDP would contract by 3.4%, i.e., a 7.3% fall from the previous predictions. This fall in GDP is accompanied by a 5% sharp rise in headline inflation due to supply-chain disruptions, thus, putting the economy in a state of stagflation. However, there is scope for the internal stability of the inflation rate due to immense fall in aggregate demand.  

Challenges Being Faced

Effect on Fiscal Deficits

The pandemic will lead to a great cyclical increase in fiscal deficits in Africa. It will happen in a two-fold process of decreasing government revenues and increasing fiscal expenditures to boost demand in the economy. In 2020, the deficits have been predicted to rise to 8% – 9% of the GDP, depending on the severity of the situation.

From the pandemics and other crises of the past, it has been noted that government revenues fall more rapidly than economic activity. Situations are more likely to worsen and be volatile to COVID-19 shocks due to the ineptitude of the administration in successfully implementing proper policy reforms to ensure smooth flow of government revenue.

Effect on Poverty

If there is a continuation of the prevailing trends, Africa will not be able to do away with extreme poverty by 2030, as planned before.  Taking into account the current scenario, there have been estimations that poverty will only fall to 24.7% in 2030 from 33.4% in 2018, which is still way above the 3% Sustainable Development Goal Target. Figures in the Economic Outlook of Africa (2020) indicate that the number of poor people will merely fall by 8 million, from 429.1 million in 2018 to 421.2 million in 2030. Only North Africa is expected to somewhat meet the 3% target by 2030.

However, the process of eradication can be sped-up by accelerating growth and development in the continent and taking measures to increase the social well-being of the people. Aggregate personal consumption needs a massive boost, of about 10% per annum, to help achieve the target by 2030. If these measures are not implemented properly then poverty eradication will remain a distant unachievable dream for the continent.

Other Challenges

There are other challenges being faced by Africa at the moment like increases in the debt burdens and fall in remittances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Several countries in Africa have high debt-to-GDP ratios which are projected to drastically increase in the onset of COVID-19 and possess the risk of transforming to a sovereign debt crisis if not dealt with properly. In addition to it, remittances and FDI which constitute a dominant financial flow to Africa have been falling during the pandemic. This poses serious threats to the African economy and makes it vulnerable to economic instability.   

Policies to Ensure Stability

The African Economic Outlook (2020) suggests a few actionable policies to not only improve the quality of growth in Africa but also combat the impact of the pandemic. They are as follows:

• The government should ease the main constraints to productivity like poor infrastructure, uneducated and unskilled labour, poor administration, and others. Relaxing these constraints through adequate policy will guarantee growth revival.
• Governments across the continent should take adequate measures to not only stop the spread of the coronavirus but also economic stability by formulating and implementing a variety of combined fiscal and monetary policies.
• The fiscal and monetary policies should work hand-in-hand to collectively help in the revival of the economy. The fiscal policy should keep the debt buildup in check and provide a massive boost to aggregate demand and the monetary policy should work towards maintaining a stable inflation rate and minimizing exchange rate fluctuations. 
• There must be a shift from low-productivity informal sectors to high-productivity formal sectors which would help utilize the untapped resources of the economy.
• Despite the moderate growth of Africa over the past few decades, the quality of growth has been far from inclusive. Only a combination of rigid structural reforms by policymakers can accelerate Africa’s growth and improve its quality and inclusiveness. 
• Even if there is reduced scope for increased gains, policymakers should implement measures to sustain the gains already achieved in the past few years including macroeconomic stability, minimum fluctuations in exchange rates, and others.
• The government should increase the welfare of the people amidst the pandemic by providing proper healthcare benefits to labourers in the form of paid sick leaves and ensure income safety to those sick or quarantined and ensure job security to all who are suffering to check the increase of unemployment.
• The government should also facilitate Universal access to financed health services for everyone irrespective of their sector or employment status.

Conclusion

The Global Health Security (GHS) Index shows that 33 African countries are inadequately equipped to deal with the threats of the pandemic from a clinical perspective. However, Africa might stand a chance to stay strong in this adversity if proper arrangements can be made for rampant testing across the continent at affordable costs.

The future conditions of the economy depend on the competency of the governments to deal with the issue at hand. If the economies can uphold their resilience at this time, there is hope for a speedy revival and acceleration of the growth of Africa. This resilience can be maintained via effective structural reforms, to keep high debts and deficits in check, and minimal vulnerability, in the form of external reserves, to be able to finance imported advanced medical consumables and to make them available to the public. Thus, there has emerged an urgent need for policymakers to implement drastic reforms to strengthen resilience to be able to withstand shocks at all levels, be it macroeconomic, microeconomic or household levels.

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