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Kerala High Court issued notice to the Central and State governments on a petition seeking to set up a mechanism to assist NRIs who had lost their jobs abroad and had returned to India, to seek due com­ pensation. The petition exposes the preca­rious conditions of migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.  Employers , particularly construction com­ panies, have used the crisis as an opportun­ity to retrench masses of migrant labourers without paying them wages or allowances. South Asia­ Gulf migration corridor is among the largest in the world. South Asians account for nearly 15 million in the Gulf South Asian labour force forms the back­ bone of the Gulf economies , but has had to go knocking on doors for food and other bas­ ic necessities pandemic, the shutdown of companies, the tightening of borders, and the exploitative nature of the Kafala sponsor­ship system have all aggravated the miseries of South Asian migrant worke...

CTBT multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes in all environments  Nuclear disarmament is an act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons . India has always supported it but is against discriminatory disarmament. So didn't join Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty  1998 india adopted no first use of nuclear weapon policy after its second nuclear tests pokharan 2 and will not use nuclear weapons against non nuclear weapon states  Reasons for India's refusal  Divides the world into haves and have nots favouring nuclear powered states with advanced achievements and banning further est for countries like india who have started late  No time frame mentioned to dismantle existing nuclear weapons  No provisions for complete nuclear disarmament  Does not address India's security concern with perpetual threat from neighbours like pak and china  Hinders India's strategic nuclear prog development  ...

Shift From SAARC to BIMSTEC Kathmandu SAARC summit connectivity agreement forwarded by india vetoed by pak  Uri attack 2016 SAARC summit boycott by india and other members  Invites to BIMSTEC leaders in Brics outreach summit Goa 2016 2017 BIMSTEC summit PM called it platform for India's act east policy  2018 BIMSTEC summit resolution against terrorism and state supporting it  Removal of MFN status to Pak  Couldn't carry all members together in South Asia satellite project  Move away from pak after pathankot attack  Pulwama attack  Reasons for shift Stagnation of SAARC with limited growrh aspects for India's aspirations  At loggerheads with pakistan  BIMSTEC better for Neighbourhood first and act east policy  BIMSTEC combined GDP 2.7 trillion $, all countries growing consistently, have high resources  Better connectivity with Bimstec nations  Bimstec better to counter for chinas growth & Expansionism Relevance of ...

BIMSTEC Secretariat has finalized BIMSTEC charter expected to  define a long-term vision and priorities for cooperation, clearly delineating roles and responsibilities of different layers of institutional structure define decision-making processes BIMSTEC is running with the spirit of Bangkok Declaration of 1997 which is not comprehensive in nature & does not account for the changed geo-political scenario BIMSTEC has identified 14 priority areas where a member country takes lead India is lead country for Transport & Communication, Tourism, Environment & Disaster Management and Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime. 14 fields to 7 sectors: ✓ Trade, Investment & Development, ✓ Environment and Climate Change, ✓ Security, ✓ Agriculture and Food Security, ✓ People-to-People Contact, ✓ Science, technology & Innovation, ✓ Connectivity. Significance of BIMSTEC for India Economic: significant trade bloc in Asia-Pacific. Bay of Bengal is the route for about 25 pe...

India has become observer of Indian Ocean Commission. IOC  is intergovernmental organization created by the Port-Louis Declaration in 1982. IOC is only regional organization in Africa composed exclusively of islands, which brings together five-member states- The Union of the Comoros Réunion (French overseas territory) Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Mandate- To strengthen the ties and to support its member states in the path towards sustainable development. Significance for India Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is a strategic part of the Indian Ocean linking the South eastern coast of Africa to the wider Indian Ocean and beyond. It is home to one of the key chokepoints in the Indian Ocean- the Mozambique Channel. India will get an official voice in the premier regional institution in the Western Indian Ocean, boosting engagement with islands in this part of the Indian Ocean. These island nations are increasingly important for India’s strategic outreach as part of its Indo-Pacifi...

2020 BRICS Summit held virtually under chairmanship of Russia adopted the motto ‘BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth’. Moscow Declaration reflects the five countries’ consolidated approach to the further development of the association . Two pillars of this year's summit are the economy and counterterrorism: Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2020-2025 : three priority areas — trade, investment and finance; digital economy; and sustainable development. BRICS counter-terrorism strategy : contributing to global efforts to combat terrorism while also strengthening intra-BRICS ties. This includes improving intelligence sharing, cracking down on their sources of finance and preventing the spread of terrorism. British economist Jim O’Neill had coined the acronym “BRIC” in 2001 , identifying four high-growth economies that could dominate the world by 2050 .The idea of forming a group came from Russia in 2007.  Russia hosted a BRIC foreign mi...

20th Summit was the first SCO Summit held in Virtual Format. India to set up a Special Working Group on Innovation and Startups and a Sub Group on Traditional Medicine within SCO. Significance of India's membership  Security   work against terrorism,separatism,extremism align with India's interest Part in RATS and joint military exercises enhance capability  Platform for bilateral negotiations with pak  counter pak propaganda on multinational forums like org for islamic Coop Work against illegal trade of drugs along golden crescent pak Afghan iran  Political Platform to achieve extended role in neighbourhood and renew bilateral ties with other members Curb  terrorism at global org  Iran and Afghan presence make it imp to discuss regional crises  scuttle influence of Pakistan in Central Asia Economic SCO 42%world pop 20%GDP FTA with Eurasian union can provide wider market  Potential to boost tourism sector  CAR is rich in iron-ore, ...

Recently, Australia, UK and US have announced a new trilateral program AUKUS. It is a new security alliance that aims for deeper cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and greater sharing of defence capabilities within the alliance. give access to cutting edge military technology to Australia , including futuristic capabilities like artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. Australia will abandon its US $43 billion plan to build French conventional submarines, and instead build vessels based on US-UK technology. AUKUS and India Complications New Challenge in Indo-pacific : apprehension that it could lead to a crowding of nuclear attack submarines in the Eastern Indian Ocean, eroding India’s regional pre-eminence. U.S’s unreliability : France’s unhappiness with AUKUS has complicated the situation a bit from India’s perspective. In the light of these issues, some experts suggest that US cannot be completely relied on, as it has excluded its long-time ally France from the grouping despit...

India and Bhutan pact for first joint venture hydropower project 600 MW Kholongchhu project . It is a 50:50 Joint Venture between Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, Himachal Pradesh PSU and Bhutanese Druk Green Power Corporation. India’s Energy cooperation with neighbouring countries India-Bhutan : on hydropower development and trade, in 2006 to develop 10,000 MW of hydropower by 2020 Key projects include, Tala hydropower project (1,020 MW) and Dorjilung hydropower project (1,125 MW) (trilateral cooperation Bhutan, India and Bangladesh). India-Nepal Electricity trade : Power Trade Agreement in 2014 to buy and sell electricity during times of shortages. 22 cross border power exchange facilities Mahakali Treaty 1996 for Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. India – Bangladesh Electricity trade - MoU on bilateral Co-operation in the areas of Power and establishment of grid connectivity India supplies about 1,200 MW power to Bangladesh, to be increased to over 2,500 MW by 2021. India-Myanmar : Inter...

China’s dams on the Mekong River has raised fresh questions on whether dams being built on other rivers that originate in China, such as the Brahmaputra, may similarly impact countries downstream. Nuozhadu dam (on the upper Mekong River basin) in 2012 and 6 other dams altered natural flow of the river. 1992 to 2019 in spite of above-average rainfall, there was severe lack of water in the lower Mekong. India has concerns over dam-building on the Brahmaptura. In 2015, China operationalised 1st hydropower project at Zangmu, while three dams at Dagu, Jiexu and Jiacha are being developed. Need for Trans-Boundary Water Management Dependency on rivers : Globally More than 45 per cent of the world’s population lives in internationally shared river basins Water Scarcity : Building of embankment dams and other structure on these rivers can lead to issue of water scarcity. Changing climate : may prompt nations to take unilateral actions to secure resources and territorial sovereignty. For Indi...