Newsletter 24 March

National

India, US to re-establish Homeland Security Dialogue discontinued by Trump

The Biden administration has announced the re-establishment of the Homeland Security Dialogue with India, which is included cybersecurity, emerging technology, and addressing violent extremism but was discontinued by the previous Trump dispensation.
This comes a day after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke with India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Mon and expressed his desire to further strengthen the partnership between India and his department.
“Mayorkas and Sandhu agreed to re-establish the US-India Homeland Security Dialogue and to discuss important issues such as cybersecurity, emerging technology and addressing violent extremism,” according to a readout (a rarity in nature) of the meeting issued on Tue.
Mayorkas and Sandhu also recognized the important contributions of students and entrepreneurs that have made both countries stronger, it said.

Background

An initiative of the Obama administration, the first India-US Homeland Security Dialogue was held in May 2011. The then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano had traveled to India to take part in the dialogue with her then-Indian counterpart Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The second India-US Homeland Security Dialogue was held in Washington DC in 2013, between Napolitano and the then Home Minister Sushil Kumar.

‘India desires cordial relations’ — PM Modi writes to Imran Khan on Pakistan Day

Modi wrote the letter to Khan to extend greetings to the people of that country on the occasion of Pakistan Day. In a letter, Modi also said that an atmosphere of trust, devoid of terror and hostility ‘is imperative’ for cordial relations between the two countries.

Though, Govt sources said it is a ‘routine letter’ sent every year, but why in media? There have been indications of positive movement in ties between India and Pakistan.

Last month, the Indian and Pakistani armies recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Mon, a delegation of Pakistani officials arrived in India for a meeting of the permanent Indus commission. It is the first such dialogue in over two-and-a-half years.
Last week, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India desires good neighborly ties with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any, bilaterally but added that any meaningful dialogue can only be held in a conducive atmosphere.
He said the onus is on Islamabad to create such an atmosphere.
The relations between the two countries nosedived after India withdrew the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two union territories in 2019.
Pakistan Day is celebrated to mark the Lahore Resolution on March 23 1940 when the All-India Muslim League demanded a separate nation for the Muslims of India.
It is learned that a separate message was sent by President Ram Nath Kovind to his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi.

CJI Bobde recommends Justice N V Ramana as his successor

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Wed recommended Justice N V Ramana as his successor and as the 48^th
CJI Bobde appears to have dismissed the complaint filed by Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Reddy against Justice Ramana.
Reddy had written a letter to the CJI shortly after a Bench led by Justice Ramana started hearing and fast-tracking hundreds of criminal cases against Ministers, legislators, and politicians pending in trial courts across the country.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is named in several criminal cases.

Justice NV Ramana is the senior-most judge in the top court after the CJI, who will retire on April 23.

Born on Aug 27, 1957, in an agriculture family, Justice Ramana has a tenure till Aug 26, 2022, and will be the first judge from Andhra Pradesh high court to serve as the CJI. Justice Ramana will be the CJI till Aug 26, 2022. He was elevated as a judge in the Supreme Court on Feb 17, 2014, when he was the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.

As per the Memorandum of Procedure governing the appointment of members of the higher judiciary, “appointment to the office of the CJI should be of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office”.

It stipulates that the law minister would, at an appropriate time, seek the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the next CJI.
Under this process, after receipt of the recommendation of the CJI, the law minister puts it before the Prime Minister who advises the President in the matter of appointment.

“Whenever there is any doubt about the fitness of the senior-most Judge to hold the office of the Chief Justice of India, consultation with other Judges…would be made for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India,” the document states.

84 people held in last six months for smuggling petrol, diesel from Nepal: MoS Home Nityanand Rai ANI

Ministry of Home Affairs on Wed informed Rajya Sabha that petrol and diesel are sold secretly on a large scale in districts of Bihar that are bordering Nepal due to the price difference of Petrol and diesel in both countries and said that 84 persons were apprehended in the last six months for smuggling the same.

MoS Home Nityanand Rai gave a written reply to Rajya Sabha on the question of Bihar BJP MP Sushil Modi which said, “Govt of Bihar has informed that some such incidents have been reported in East Champaran, West Champaran and Araria districts in Bihar.”

“Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Border Guarding Force along with Indo- Nepal border force is taking effective action to check smuggling and other illegal

CDS' new defense import ban list to push indigenous ammunition, weapon systems ANI

The next list of 101 defense-related items whose import would be banned to push ‘Make in India’ in the military hardware sector is expected to include ammunition for major weapon systems and integrated systems such as aircraft.
To prepare the list (‘positive list of indigenization‘) is expected to be issued by the Department of Military Affairs headed by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat by the end of this month and discussions are being held with the indigenous defense industry players mainly involving the private sector.
A major focus would be on banning the import of all types of ammunition in a given timeframe as this is the most critical part of our defense preparedness.
This would also help the country to save money demanded by the foreign suppliers in times of crisis like the ones we had in China and Pakistan in the recent past, they said.
The DMA has been holding discussions with the possible industry partners to provide a certain timeframe in which they would be able to develop and produce, along with the possibility of the private sector producing major weapon systems such as aircraft for military requirements and other such systems.
The first such list was issued around the same time last year and has stopped the import of any foreign artillery guns and submarines and they are supposed to be built in India even if there is a requirement of a foreign partner in it.
This also led to the Indian Army withholding a possible deal to procure artillery guns from Israel and is now evaluating an indigenous gun system called ATAGS developed by the DRDO and produced by the Tata-Kalyani combination.
The import of items mentioned in the list is not going to be stopped immediately and time would be given by the Defence Ministry to the forces as well as the local manufacturers to prepare their production base.

Indian Army concludes the contract for procurement of 17 different types of service medals

The procurement has enabled the Indian Army to meet all outstanding demands of service medals in respect of soldiers who have served and are serving currently.

Bihar: FIR against Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap after RJD leaders clash with cops

A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in Bihar on Wed against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD, a state-based party) leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, and other unnamed party workers, news agency ANI reported. This comes after a protest led by opposition legislators against the police bill, passed by the state Assembly, led to unruly scenes on Tue.

The grand alliance led by Tejashwi Yadav has claimed that the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill is a “draconian act” that will give “absolute powers” to the police.

The Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, which seeks to give more teeth to the state police, was passed on Tue.

What Happened Yesterday?

This led to the House witnessing unprecedented turmoil — the order was thrown into disarray and multiple adjournments declared as opposition RJD leaders raised slogans demanding that the Nitish Kumar-led govt withdraw the bill. In the meanwhile, protesting legislators laid siege to the Speaker’s chamber, news agencies reported, and the police had to be called in to physically evict them.

What Govt claimed

Assembly Speaker VK Singh, however, highlighted the incident of RJD MLAs allegedly confining him to his chamber inside the legislature building premises and said that such acts were condemnable.

Meanwhile, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said that he had never seen such activities inside the Assembly before.

Other parties of the alliance, including the Samajwadi Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Trinamool Congress, and the Shiv Sena have also joined the RJD in condemning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janta Dal (United) Govt in Bihar over Tue evening’s incident claimed that this is ‘unconstitutional.

The RJD on Wed walked out from the Rajya Sabha after its members were not allowed to raise the issue of alleged roughing of opposition legislators, including some women MLAs, inside the Bihar Assembly.

International

Myanmar junta frees hundreds held for anti-coup protests

Witnesses outside Insein Prison in Yangon saw busloads of mostly young people, looking happy with some flashing the three-finger gesture of defiance adopted by the protest movement. State-run TV said a total of 628 were freed.
Hundreds of people imprisoned for protesting last month’s coup were released Wed in the first apparent gesture by the military to try to placate the protest movement, ousted the elected govt of Aung San Suu Kyi.
One lawyer, speaking on condition of anonymity because she doesn’t want attention from the authorities, said all those released were arrested on Mar.
She said only 55 people detained in connection with the protests remained in the prison, and it is likely they will all face charges under Section 505(A) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to 3 years in prison.
Myanmar’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says it has confirmed the killings of 275 people in connection with the post-coup crackdown, with additional deaths still unverified.
It also says that as of Tue, it had verified arrest or charges against 2,812 people, of whom 2,418 remain in custody or with outstanding charges.
Demonstrators on Wed tried a new tactic that they dubbed a silence strike, calling on people to stay home and businesses to close for the day.
The extent of the strike was difficult to gauge, but social media users posted photos from cities and towns showing streets empty of activity save for the occasional stray dog.
“Khin Myo Chit was shot in the abdomen by a soldier while she sat in her father’s lap inside her home in Aung Pin Le ward,” the online news service Myanmar Now reported, quoting her sister, Aye Chan San.