Newsletter 4 March

Sino-Indian Standoff: Hackers target Indian Establishments

Indian military must be prepared for threats from China, Pakistan: CDS Rawat

Observing that the Indian military faces greater challenges than any other military in the world, Chief of Defense Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Thu said there is a need to study transformational concepts and to be prepared for threats for military primary arising from China and Pakistan.
In his keynote address during a national webinar on “Transformation: Imperatives for Indian Armed Forces” organized by the College of Defense Management (CDM), Secunderabad, Rawat said that India is facing complex security and a challenging environment.
CDS said that the 20^th century has seen profound changes in the character and nature of warfare due to information inclusivity and technological development.
Rawat asserted that the Indian military faces greater challenges than any other military in the world and hence need to study transformational concepts adopted in other countries carefully to cater to the spectrum of warfare.
“We must prepare for threats for military primary arising from China and Pakistan. In the future, China will continue to assert itself seeking to establish dominance in states surrounding India and the Indian Ocean region,” he added.
Rawat suggested that India needs to work on maritime requirements including ensuring the protection of maritime interest, safeguarding assets, supporting Indian war efforts in conjunction with other forces.
“We must effectively also leverage the opportunity provided by our Island territories which enables us to extend our reach, orchestrate our defense strategy and also provide depth to the mainland,” he said.

Army investigates 3 jawans for Northern Command Hq data breach, Pak drug racket under scanner TIE

Sources told that while one of the jawans was based in Udhampur and allegedly had access to operational data at the headquarters, the two other jawans were from different battalions, and were posted elsewhere but interconnected.
A drug racket linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies has surfaced as the Army probes the alleged breach of sensitive operational data from its Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur.
It is learnt that the alleged involvement of at least two jawans in the drug trade as users or sellers has been probed by the intelligence agencies because it was via the drug route that Pakistani intelligence operatives allegedly enticed them into gathering intelligence.
Significantly, the General Officer Commanding 16 Corps is the presiding officer of the Court of Inquiry along with two Major Generals as members of the inquiry team into the alleged breach.
A Central intelligence agency, sources said, stumbled upon the matter during an investigation into a drug trade with Pakistani links.
A dead drop of a pen drive, containing allegedly sensitive operational information pertaining to the Northern Command, was made by one of the jawans which was intercepted by the agency.

India’s defense budget for domestic buys to fund fighters, tanks, missiles

India has set aside ₹70,221 crore – 63% of the military’s capital budget — for buying locally-produced weapons and systems to boost defense indigenization
The budget set aside for domestic defense procurement in 2021-22 will be used for buying a variety of military hardware, ranging from fighter jets to combat helicopters and tanks to missiles, officials familiar with the modernization of the armed forces.
The allocation for indigenous procurement, made for the second consecutive year, will power the purchase of Tejas LCA (light combat aircraft) Mk-1A jets, light combat helicopters (LCHs), basic trainer aircraft, Arjun Mk-1A tanks, Astra beyond-visual-range missiles, Pinaka rocket systems and anti-tank missiles, said one of the officials cited above.
The budget will be used for making milestone payments for several domestic acquisitions through the year. Such payments refer to a certain percentage of the total deal amount that has to be paid at different stages of the execution of a contract.

PM Modi to address session on education, skill development for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the people on Wed to discuss the importance of education, research and skill development in helping the country become self-reliant. The Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ informed about the session on his official Twitter handle.

2 Jawans killed, 3 injured in IED blast planted by Naxals in Jharkhand ANI

Two jawans of the Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ) unit lost their lives and 3 others sustained injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast planted by Naxals in the Jharjhara area of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Thu, Jharkhand Police said.
“Today at about 8:45 am, a pressure IED blast took place in the forest area of Hoyahatu village in West Singhbhum, Jharkhand,” CRPF said in its statement.
JJ has formed for the eradication of extremist activities in Jharkhand.

US welcomes steps to return J-K to full economic, political normalcy-ANI

The United States on Wed (local time) welcomed the steps taken by India to return the Union Territory of JnK to full economic and political normalcy consistent with the country’s democratic values.
“We welcome steps to return the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to full economic and political normalcy consistent with India’s democratic values,” said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
“We continue to follow developments in Jammu and Kashmir closely,” he added.
He said that the US policy towards JnK has not changed.

India proposes inclusion of Chabahar port in international north-south corridor

India on Thu proposed the inclusion of Iran’s Chabahar port in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200 km multi-mode route spanning 13 countries, (which includes India, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz republic, Tajikistan, Oman, Syria and Ukraine) and also called for Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to be made part of the corridor.
Chabahar port, where an Indian state-run firm operates a terminal, is a key part of India’s plans to enhance connectivity to Afghanistan and the Central Asian states. The port played an important role in shipping humanitarian aid to Afghanistan amid the Covid-19 pandemic and India recently supplied heavy cranes to boost its capabilities.
Addressing the virtual “Chabahar Day” event organized on the margins of the Maritime India Summit 2021, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya spoke about plans to include the Iranian port in INSTC.
Mandaviya proposed the meeting of the INSTC coordination council meeting, which was to be held last year but was put off because of the pandemic, should be held virtually to take things forward.
“Chabahar port is part of our shared commitment to the peace, stability and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan,” Mandaviya said, adding the port had helped Afghanistan diversity its export opportunities.
Though there were dry runs on some routes in 2014, the project has been slow to take off. Despite renewed focus on INSTC by India and Russia, work was again hit by the pandemic.
Jaishankar highlighted Chabahar’s role in recent years in sending Indian humanitarian aid and emergency supplies to Afghanistan and Iran and in opening up trade opportunities.
The Chabahar Day event reflects India’s commitment to work with regional stakeholders to enhance connectivity and provide unhindered access to the sea to the landlocked Central Asian states, he said.
India helped Iran to fight the worst locust invasion of the past 25 years by supplying 25 tons of the drug Malathion in June 2020 through Chabahar. The second batch of 25 tons of Malathion recently reached Chabahar, he added.
Afghanistan, Iran and India signed a tripartite agreement on developing Chabahar port and setting up a trilateral transport and transit corridor in 2016. India then set up India Ports Global Limited to operate the Shahid Behesti terminal at Chabahar.
Since the Indian firm began operations in Dec 2018, the port has handled 123 vessels, 13,752 containers and 1.8 million ton of cargo, Mandaviya said.
There has also been an increase in the average monthly calls by merchant vessels, and 110,000 tons of wheat and 2,000 tons of pulses have been shipped to Afghanistan.
Iran’s transport minister Mohammad Eslami called for more lines of credit from India to build and equip Chabahar port and to complete infrastructure for transport networks in the region. There are plans to expand the Shahid Behesti terminal’s capacity from 8.5 million tonnes to 13 million tonnes, he said.
Ministers from Afghanistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia participated in the Chabahar Day event.

Jaishankar arrived in Dhaka: To prepare ground for PM Modi’s visit

“The full possibilities of the relationship will be best realized through greater connectivity and people-to-people contacts” Jaishankar tweeted in afternoon.
As PM Sheikh Hasina noted: Connectivity is Productivity.
- Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar has arrived in Dhaka.
- He will hold a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Foreign Minister.
- During his visit, Jaishankar will prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to that country, to join the celebrations for 50 years of Bangladesh’s Independence and India-Bangladesh diplomatic relations.
- PM Modi is likely to pay a 2-day visit to Bangladesh beginning Mar 26 to participate in the 50^th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of Bangladesh.
- At the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart A. K. Abdul Momen, the External Affairs Minister will pay an official visit to Dhaka on March 4, a Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Wed.
- The ties between India and Bangladesh have witnessed a major upswing in the last few years.
- In reflection of close ties, India is also hosting a number of events to mark the 50^th anniversary of the 1971 war that led to liberation of Bangladesh.
- This is a difficult time for all of us because of COVID. For us, it was important that we are partnering with you in your health and economic recovery.
- The largest number of vaccines shipped by India to any foreign country so far – 9 million – has been to Bangladesh: Jaishanker said in Dhaka
- Many of the deaths are fairly deep inside India. We discussed it as neighbors and friends and agreed that our objective should be ‘no crime no death border’.
- If we can get it right, we can address the problem effectively: he said on ‘border killings at India-Bangladesh border’
We did discuss it, we have a meeting of our water resources Secretaries very soon. I’m sure they will be discussing it further. I think you all know Govt of India’s position that position has not changed: he replied on the issue of Teesta River.

India, Norway To Jointly Conduct Marine Spatial Planning In Lakshadweep And Puducherry

The Union Ministry of Earth Science on Mar 3 said that India and Norway have agreed to jointly work in the area of marine spatial planning in the oceanic space for the next 5 years.
According to a press release by the ministry, the first project steering committee meeting with representatives from both nations was “successfully conducted”.
The ministry added that the 2 countries have chartered out a plan to ensure that human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe and sustainable manner in areas such as energy, transportation, fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.
The recent agreement between the 2 nations is a part of the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative under the MoU signed between the two countries in 2019.
The Indian ministry informed that Lakshadweep and Puducherry have been identified as pilot sites for the project.

EC tells fuel pumps to remove hoardings with PM photo: What the order says

The Election Commission (EC) on Wed directed all petrol pump dealers and other agencies to remove hoardings of central Govt’s schemes carrying photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi within 72 hours.
The use of the prime minister’s photograph in such hoardings violates the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the EC said
The order came after a delegation of West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress met EC officials and alleged that the use of Modi’s photographs in the hoardings violated the poll code.
According to an EC official, they have received over 1,000 similar complaints. Of those, 450 were found to be genuine.
Since Tue, the EC has also seized cash amounting to ₹25 lakh besides recovering 28,131 l of liquor worth ₹32 lakh. Narcotics worth ₹30 lakh was also seized, the official said.

"Some Screening Needed, Even Porn Shown": Supreme Court On OTT Platforms

The Supreme Court today called for screening of video content on OTT platforms, saying “even pornographic material is being shown” on some of them.
There should be a mechanism to screen such programs, the top court said as it directed the center to place before it the recent guidelines of the Govt to regulate social media platforms.
“Now watching movies on internet and OTT has become common. We are of the view there must be some screening,” Justice Ashok Bhushan said while hearing an appeal by India head of Amazon Aparna Purohit, who has challenged an order by the Allahabad High Court in the ongoing investigation against the web series ‘Tandav’.
The bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place before it the recent guidelines of the Govt to regulate social media platforms on Fri, when it would hear the plea.
The High Court on Feb 25^thdeclined to give protection from arrest to Purohit by dismissing the anticipatory bail application of her.
Making strong observations while rejecting Purohit’s bail plea, the HC in its order had noted that “such people make the revered figures of the religion of majority community source of earning money in a most brazen manner taking benefit of the liberal and tolerant tradition of the country.”

NEIGHBORHOOD/ WORLD

Pakistan PM Imran Khan to seek vote of confidence after election setback

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence in parliament after the Govt’s finance minister lost his bid for a Senate seat in an election on Wed, the foreign minister said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the nation today at 7:30pm.
Imran Khan’s ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its political allies were bidding to wrest control of Pakistan’s Senate from opposition parties in indirect elections to 37 seats in the 104-member upper house of parliament.
Complete results have yet to come in, but local media reports suggest that PTI and its allies gained ground in the Senate, possibly enough to gain a majority.
However, an election official announced that Imran Khan’s finance minister, Abdul Hafiz Sheikh, had not succeeded in winning the seat he was contesting.
The loss represents a significant blow to Imran Khan and the government, because the electoral college in Sheikh’s case was the lower house of parliament, which chooses the prime minister of the country and in 2018 handed a majority to Khan.
Sheikh is also leading crucial talks with international lender the IMF aimed at stabilizing the economy.
He can continue as finance minister, however, meaning the political damage is largely symbolic at this stage.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz told Geo News that the move was to show Khan’s political opponents that he still had the confidence of parliament and it was the “sign of a brave man.”
The Senate contest was designed as a gauge of confidence in Khan’s administration, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, head of the independent research organization PILDAT, told Reuters.
Pakistani financial advisory house Topline Securities said in an advisory note immediately after the result of Sheikh’s seat was announced that the loss was likely to increase pressure on the ruling party.
Opposition parties, which have united behind a mass protest campaign aimed at ousting Khan, called for a dissolution of the Govt and fresh elections.
If Imran Khan and his allies do gain a majority in the Senate when final results are in, it could help him pass key legislation that has stalled in the chamber and slowed progress in talks with the IMF.

China ‘biggest geopolitical test’ for US: Biden admin

“China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system — all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to,” secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
In his first major speech, Blinken promised that President Joe Biden’s administration will prioritize diplomacy over military action and build cooperation with the world on global challenges such as climate change and Covid-19.
“We will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21^st century: our relationship with China,” Blinken said at the State Department.
He vowed to champion the rights of Hong Kong and the ethnic Uighurs, saying that if not, “China will act with even greater impunity.”
“China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system – all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to,” he said.
“Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be and adversarial when it must be.
Blinken has said he does not fundamentally disagree with Trump on China but believes the United States can be more effective — through working with allies and, in narrow cases, finding common ground.

Concerns over China vaccine diplomacy “narrow-minded”: political advisory body-Reuters

Concerns about China using vaccines to sway other countries are “narrow-minded,” a top political advisory body said, apparently dismissing a notion among rival powers that Beijing exploits the fight against COVID-19 to boost its global influence.
Guo Weimin, spokesman for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said some suspect China is using COVID-19 vaccines to “expand our geopolitical influence.”
“This idea is extremely narrow-minded”, Guo said at a news conference on Wed ahead of the opening of the annual meeting of CPPCC on Thu.
China’s President Xi Jinping has pledged to make China’s vaccines a “global public good.”
The Financial Times newspaper on Wed reported that the US is working with allies Japan, India and Australia on a plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in Asia to counter the influence of China. It cited people familiar with the talks.
China’s rival India is using its strength as the world’s biggest maker of vaccines for various diseases to improve regional ties during the pandemic by providing COVID-19 vaccines to a range of countries, pushing back against Beijing’s political and economic in Asia.
China plans to provide 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX. Vaccines from Chinese firms are already being rolled out in several countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Indian-Origin Pramila Jayapal named vice chair of a key congressional subcommittee

Pramila Jayapal will oversee the subcommittee’s urgent work on antitrust, big tech, reining in anti-competitive behavior, helping prevent monopolistic practices, protecting a free press, and allowing innovation to thrive.
In July, Jayapal questioned the CEOs of 3 dominant tech platforms.
She asked former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos about how the tech giant uses third party seller data. She also questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on how the social networking giant harvests and monetizes user data and then utilizes it to copy, acquire, and kill rivals, the media release said.
Ironically list doesn’t include, Twitter, which flagged the tweets of President Trump, which ultimately blocked.
Interestingly, foreign Min, S Jaishankar was scheduled to meet US lawmakers during his US visit in Nov 2019, on the sidelines of the India-US 2+2 dialogue in Washington.
He, however, cancelled his meeting after the American lawmakers refused to exclude from their delegation Jayapal, who had introduced a resolution urging India to lift restrictions in Kashmir.
Jaishankar expressed disappointment with a Congressional resolution on Kashmir that Representative Jayapal had moved earlier.

UK Parliament To Debate On India’s Farmers’ Protest After Petition Crosses 100k Signatures

UK Parliament to debate Indian Farmers Protest & Press freedom on 8^th Mar (4.30 PM GMT).
UK Petitions Committee gave go ahead to the debate. Indian origin British MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi had lobbied to hold the debate.
Despite the fact that the list of signatories for the e-petition also reflects a signature of Boris Johnson, West London Conservative Party Member Of Parliament Downing Street on Wed categorically denied that the UK Prime Minister had signed petition.
Stating that a free press plays a crucial role in our democracies, the spokesperson said that the Govt is putting their full weight behind this including through membership of the Media Freedom Coalition.

US report regrets India’s fall from ranks of free nations

A report by a United States Govt-funded think-tank, Freedom House, regretted India’s fall from the ranks of free nations after the country’s status was downgraded to “partly free”, it emerged on Thursday.
“Under (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, India appears to have abandoned its potential to serve as a global democratic leader, elevating narrow Hindu nationalist interests at the expense of its founding values of inclusion and equal rights for all,” warned the Freedom in the World 2021 report.
The report noted that in Dec 2020, Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, approved a law that prohibits forced religious conversion through interfaith marriage, which critics fear will effectively restrict interfaith marriages in general.