The abraham accords as india’s west asia bridge
- The recent visit by the Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal R.K. Bhadauria, to Israel offers a window to study how New Delhi is taking advantage of the Abraham Accords deal signed between Israel and a consortium of Arab States led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020.
- According to reports, an Indian contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will now visit Israel in October to take part in multilateral military exercises.
- India also conducted the ‘Zayed Talwar’ naval exercises with the UAE off the coast of Abu Dhabi, further deepening the fast developing strategic cooperation between the two countries.
- In December 2020, Indian Army chief, General M.M. Naravane, visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia, becoming the first chief of the Indian Army to do so
- The foundation for these visits was set by the (now former) chief of the Indian Navy, Admiral Sunil Lanba, in 2017, who visited the UAE and Oman, the latter being home to Duqm Port where New Delhi signed a deal with Muscat for access to the facility, including dry dock use by the Indian Navy.
- The above examples show the pacey developments on the defence front between India and the West Asian region
- The signing of the Accords has removed a significant strategic obstacle for New Delhi — that of a trapeze wire delicate balancing act India has had to play out between the Arab Gulf and Israel over the decades.
- This status quo is now witnessing a change, with Israel inaugurating its first diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi and direct flights, business and tourism picking up between the two countries over the past few month
- Starting from the relatively low-key staging visit to Saudi Arabia conducted by the IAF in 2015, to hosting visiting Iranian naval warships in 2018,
- Defence of the critical waterways in and around the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the extended Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has taken a driving seat in Indian strategic thinking
- However, not all Arab States have been on board with the geopolitical shifts the Accords have pushed through.
- Despite a lot of effort from Israel, under the (now former) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia has maintained a distance from this arrangement.
- More recently, Riyadh has praised the Accords, but said that the resolution of the Palestinian State remains at the forefront of its requirements
- despite India’s rare but arguable successes in a ‘non-alignment’ approach in West Asia, it has taken one-sided decisions in the past, such as training Iraqi Air Force cadets on MiG aircraft in Tikrit between 1958 and 1989
- , while also maintaining good relations with former President Saddam Hussein, seen as a critical part of India’s energy security thinking.
- The rationale behind such thinking back then has not changed even in 2021, as India still imports more than 80% of its annual oil requirements, much of which still comes from suppliers such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
- Iran, as part of India’s ‘West Asia’ construct, will also play a significant part in India’s outreach in the months to come as the crisis in Afghanistan deepens.
- The fact that New Delhi used Iranian airspace and facilities when evacuating its diplomatic staff from Kandahar in July showcases a level of strategic commonality, interest and play on certain issues in the region.
- Keeping this in mind, connectivity projects such as Chabahar Port and Chabahar-Zahedan rail project.
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Israel, UAE and Bahrain sign Abraham Accord
- Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have signed agreements to establish formal relations, ending a decades-old taboo in Arab diplomacy as power and priorities shift in the Middle East.
- It is the first Arab-Israeli peace deal in 26 years.
- Egypt was the first Arab State to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979.
- Jordon signed a peace pact in 1994.
- The texts of the agreements detail how the three countries will open embassies and establish other new diplomatic and economic ties, including tourism, technology and energy.
- Israel and the Emirates are beginning commercial air travel between their countries for the first time, and Bahrain has opened its airspace for those flights.
- The Abraham Accords also open the door for Muslims around the world to visit the historic sites in Israel and to peacefully pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.
- They make scant reference to the fate of the Palestinians, but include a call for “a just, comprehensive and enduring resolution of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.”
- They are also another step toward the formation of a de facto alliance between Israel and the Gulf’s Sunni Arab monarchies against their common enemy, Shiite Iran.
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Present economic situation
- The outlook for aggregate demand is improving, but still weak and overcast by the pandemic”,
- demand conditions had been buoyed by pent-up demand released by unlocking and vaccination.
- And, evidence that the economy was gaining traction could be seen in “manufacturing activity gradually turning around even as the contraction in services had moderated”
- better quality salaried jobs shrank by 3.2 million, noting that the bulk of the rural jobs added were of temporary farm labour linked to delayed kharif sowing.
- monetary policy admits the internal dilemma at the MPC observing that ultimately the policy decision was “a judgment call” as any move to tame inflation by one percentage point would mean ‘sacrificing’ 1.5-2 percentage points of GDP growth
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Army and the women
- Women have been fighting a tough and uphill battle for equal opportunities in the Indian Army.
- In a landmark judgment in February 2020, the Supreme Court asked the Government to abide by its own policy and grant permanent commission to women in the Short Service Commission and give them command postings in all services other than combat.
- Ministry of Defence vs Babita Puniya & Others, the top court pointed out that women had played a “significant role” in the army since their induction in 1992 and
- Extending permanent commission to women SSC officers “is a step forward in recognising and realising the right of women to equality of opportunity in the Army
- Court passed an interim order allowing women to appear for the National Defence Academy entrance exam on September 5.
- Till now, women could join the Army through the Indian Military Academy and the Officers Training Academy.
- The directive allows girls who clear the exam to study at the NDA and then at the IMA or the naval and air force academies and become commissioned officers.
- Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution, which uphold the values of equality and allow equal, non-discriminatory opportunities at work, were being violated by denying eligible women the opportunity.
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Defense Innovation Organization (iDEX-DIO)
- 5th edition of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) meant to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation and technology development in the defence and aerospace sectors.
- “Thirty-five problem statements —13 from the Services and 22 from Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) — were unveiled under DISC 5.0.
- These are in areas such as situational awareness, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, aircraft-trainer, non-lethal devices, 5G network, underwater domain awareness, Drone SWARMS and data capturing,”
- The iDEX provided a strong foundation for innovation, Research and Development (R&D) to the industry.
- “Initiatives like iDEX form a link between our youth, academia, R&D, start-ups and the armed forces.
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Back to basic
- A preliminary report of a nationwide survey conducted by Lego Foundation in Denmark stated that students give importance to peer interactions, good teachers, fun learning content and knowledge gained from experimental approaches.
- The UNICEF says that children want to go back to school.
- We can reasonably assume that these aspirations hold true for Indian children
- According to various estimates, the pandemic and lockdowns have led to an alarming drop-out rate from schools, migration of children from private to government schools due to inability to pay fees, increased abuse at home, inadequate nutrition, etc.
- Industry experts will agree with the claim that for adults to unlearn and relearn is a very expensive and time-consuming process.
- Thus, if the foundation of education is weak, any effort at a later stage to strengthen it will only yield sub-optimal result
- The UNDP Human Development Report 2019 states that students who fall behind may struggle “if the level of classroom instruction (based on textbooks that follow ambitious curricular standards) is considerably above their learning level.
- These problems are exacerbated at higher grades, if students are automatically promoted to the next grade without having acquired foundational skills.”
- While the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposes pedagogical freedom to the teacher, content-heavy curriculum forces instructionist rather than constructivist engagements by default, as teachers are always short of time.
- As a result, students simply consume what they are taught; they don’t become creators.
- Supporting slower foundational development while focusing on the essentials will allow for deeper and more meaningful learning.
- If the sight is on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for Education, India needs to work on a war footing.
- It will have to acknowledge that EdTech is a resource of the privileged and learning higher-order cognitive skills requires time and personal support.
- One way is to mobilise students in higher education to contribute three to six months in government sponsored programmes by working in the most remote and underdeveloped areas to educate children and teachers
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