12 May 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Explain the relevance of India’s efforts to shape the strategic and military dynamics of the Indian Ocean region while discussing the strategic significance of Indian Ocean islands and the challenges they face. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II – International Relations

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• As global power dynamics change from west to east, regional powers, especially China and India, have altered their geo-strategies and foreign relations focus to an ocean-based strategy.
• The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is becoming increasingly important to the global order in general and the Indian subcontinent in particular.
• The security of India’s national interests depends on a secure IOR.

Body:

The following are the main reasons for the increasing importance of Indian Ocean islands:

• Their strategic location, which is critical for building a regional naval presence, as well as their proximity to sea lines of communication (SLOCs), which makes patrolling in the region easier in both peace and war.
• The presence of these big countries in the Indian Ocean region, in the form of naval bases, trade, and infrastructure development aid, legitimises their status as security providers, allowing them to exert more influence in the region.
• Islands in the Indian Ocean are strategically placed near vital transit routes, giving them access to and control over key chokepoints and waterways, and so their key geographies have the potential to affect geopolitical competition.
• To the west of India, the islands of Socotra (Yemen), Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles, which lie at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and South Asia, have gained strategic importance.
• While Socotra is strategically placed at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Maldives, and the Seychelles have maritime zones spanning over one million square kilometres, giving them more rights in ocean waters.

Challenges:

• India faces a challenge from China’s fast rising presence in the northern Indian Ocean, as well as the deployment of Chinese submarines and ships in the area.
• Traditional risks include belligerent nations’ military presence and the resulting strategic rivalry, as well as terrorism, piracy, and illegal smuggling; non-traditional threats include climate change’s challenges, such as rising natural disasters and the loss of traditional livelihoods.
• As a result, tight cooperation between these island nations and bigger coastal countries becomes a practical requirement, and it is important to the region’s stability.

India’s efforts are significant:

• As part of strengthening its marine engagement, India has increased its cooperation with Indian Ocean littoral states and maritime neighbours.
• The Navy conducts Joint Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance with the Maldives, Seychelles, and Mauritius, as well as Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia, as part of the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
• Search and rescue, as well as capability building, have emerged as important topics.
• In addition to escorting Indian flagged vessels, other countries’ ships have also been protected.
• India’s Indian Ocean policy, enshrined in “SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region,” articulates the country’s vision for constructing a secure regional architecture, which includes “safeguarding mainland and islands, strengthening maritime neighbours’ capacities, and advancing peace and security” in the Indian Ocean Region.
• For a country like India, the Indian Ocean’s island states have enormous strategic relevance in shaping the region’s geopolitical contours and guaranteeing maritime security and order.
• The Indian islands of Andaman and Nicobar, as well as Lakshadweep, have aided the country in improving its maritime capabilities tremendously.
• This allows India to keep a close eye on military and economic activity in and around the Strait of Malacca, as well as the western Pacific countries’ maritime entrance point into the Indian Ocean.
• The Indian Navy has helped the islands of Mauritius, the Maldives, and the Seychelles chart ocean waters in order to secure marine security.
• India has also spearheaded the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), which aims to strengthen maritime security through naval cooperation among its 35 members, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which brings together 21 countries to work on security, governance, blue economy promotion, and cultural tourism.
• The inclusion of the Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar in these multilateral forums demonstrates India’s attempts to foster security and development by incorporating all players, regardless of their economic or naval capabilities.

Conclusion:

• India has charted the path to becoming a “influential” and “responsible” leader in the Indian Ocean region, echoing Alfred Mahan’s comments that “whoever attains control of the Indian Ocean, will dominate Asia.”

Q2. Galwan serves as a reminder that India must maintain vigilance along its northern frontiers. Comment. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II – International Relations

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) saw its first deaths since 1975 on June 15, when 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers were killed in a brutal clash in Galwan, Ladakh.
• The last year’s standoff on the banks of the Pangong-tso and the massive build-up of Chinese troops on the other side of the LAC indicate a shift in policy from a ‘inch-by-inch’ intrusion to all-out aggressive posturing.
• Chinese dominance and deterrence posture in the DBO sector was an effort by the PLA to prevent India from carrying out its plan for rapid border infrastructure development.
• China is concerned about this possibility.
• India needs to beef up its border security in the north.

Body:

• The Chinese presence on the Indian side of the LAC at Gogra, Hot Springs, and Demchok gives the PLA a tactical advantage, but the Chinese control of the Depsang Plains jolts Indian military plans the most.
• The Ladakh crisis has also revealed India’s military inadequacy in dealing with a collusive threat from China and Pakistan: to avert this, the government started backchannel discussions with Pakistan, which resulted in the Line of Control truce being reaffirmed. a path forward
• An LAC plus solution on one end of the spectrum, and a Package Proposal without Tawang on the other, is the range within which a boundary resolution may reasonably be sought.
• If the ‘plus’ on the Indian side could be the designation of the LAC as an international boundary, while China could settle with merely free access to Tawang for its pilgrims, then a middle ground may be found.
• To maintain peace and quiet on the Sino-Indian border, it appears more probable that the two sides agree for more CBMs (Confidence Building Measures).
• The definition of the LAC, which the Chinese have so far refused to undertake despite previously agreeing to do so, could be a good place to start.
• In the world of realpolitik, a velvet glove is effective when it is backed up by an iron fist, which is based on practical rather than moral or ideological grounds.
• Economic power and cultural clout are most effective when combined with the bravery to confront a bully. o To safeguard its territorial integrity,
• India must pursue aggressive infrastructure development and be equipped with defence arrangements.
• A new Ladakh policy must be formulated, with input from local populations, particularly those living in the boundary regions.
• We must also overcome the gap between frontier communities and municipal government.

Conclusion:

• The events of the previous year have had a tremendous impact on India’s attitude toward China.
• The relationship is currently at a fork in the road.
• The decisions made in New Delhi will have a big impact on global geopolitics in the future.
• The Galwan event, on the other hand, has taught India that it must never let its defences down, especially on its northern borders.

Q3. Examine the strategies and programmes in place to encourage tourism in India in the wake of the covid-19 outbreak. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II – International Relations

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• The tourism and hospitality industries, which include hotels and restaurants, have long been acknowledged as a source of growth and an engine for socioeconomic development around the world.
• Tourism and hospitality industries offer riches and prosperity to towns and countries.
• Local folks are also employed in tourism and hospitality.
• India has figured out how to earn from this industry.
• The tourism and hotel business in India today generates billions of dollars in revenue each year.
• Hospitality and tourism, one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors, has been seen as a fragile industry, in that, unlike other manufacturers, the hospitality and tourism industry becomes more contrived in the event of an external or internal shock or hardship.

Body:

• In India, the tourism situation is as follows:
• This pandemic poses a particular threat to the tourism and hospitality industries.
• COVID-19 is expected to result in a 20% to 30% drop in international visitor arrivals and a loss of US$300 billion to US$450 billion in international tourism receipts.
• Tourism to the Nilgiris has dropped by a stunning 80 percent in the year since the COVID-19 outbreak began.
• The number of visitors to the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) in Udhagamandalam is used as a barometer to evaluate the tourist intake into the district, according to figures from the Horticulture and Tourism Departments.
• The number of tourists visiting the Nilgiris plummeted from 28.92 lakh in 2019 to 5.88 lakh in 2020, prior to the onset of COVID-19.

Policies and schemes to boost the tourism sector:

• In India, the central government and state governments have announced separate tourism plans and strategies aimed at increasing job opportunities and development in the tourism and hospitality sectors, as well as fostering economic integration and linkages with other industries.
• States such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh have built tourist systems that allow the federal government to legislate for tourism and hospitality growth.
• The proposal to include on the concurrent list was given to state governments and reviewed during the Chief Ministers’ Conference, according to reports.
• The Ministry of Tourism’s principal goal is to facilitate and strengthen Indian tourism and hospitality.
• The Ministry’s “Incredible India 2.0” initiatives and public awareness signal a change away from global promotions and toward market-specific promotional programmes and content creation.
• The awareness campaign covers all of India’s major tourism source markets, as well as emerging markets with substantial potential.
• The projects make use of a limited number of creatives for a variety of niche products.
• Tourism in India is a critical pillar and backbone of the Make in India initiative.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has introduced a new form of classifying entry permits visas called “Medical Visas,” which can be issued for a specific reason to international visitors visiting India for medical treatment.
• The Ministry of Tourism has added medical tourism marketing promotion to its list of new initiatives and public awareness.
• The Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism administers the Marketing Development Assistance Scheme (MDAS), which provides financial support and assistance to tourism service companies.
• To boost and improve medical tourism, the government announced the formation of the National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board (NMWT), which will provide assistance and support to those travelling to the country for medical treatment.
• The government of India has recently launched a new awareness initiative called “Swachhata,” which is defined as a clean and spotless tourist destination that will be more reliable in the long run and will connect with tourists.
• The Ministry of Tourism has identified 17 iconic tourist sites across the country for development as part of the Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project, and plans to work with various central ministries, state governments, urban local bodies, local communities, and industry players/private sector to develop these sites.
• Bharat Parv and Paryatan-Parv
• Dekho Apna Desh
• Social media and website activities to promote domestic touri
• Social awareness campaigns to promote the SAATHI Initiative

During the crisis, the Tourism Ministry took the following measures:

• Setup of the COVID-19 Cell • Publication of COVID-19 advisories and guidelines
• Access to a 24-hour helpline • ITDC’s coordination with hotels regarding stranded visitors
• ITDC’s accommodation of foreign tourists
• Joint Working Group with State Tourism Officers
• Establishment of a “Stranded in India” website Portal Measures that must be taken:
• In the aftermath of COVID-19, significant changes in the structure of travel and tourism demand and supply are expected to reshape the sector.
• Promoting flexibility services and safety protocols would be another strategic tool to attract potential customers, and offering discounted rates, cancellation policies, and a better working environment would be the best opportunity for long-term tourism and hospitality sustainability.
• Similarly, promoting and foreseeing the importance and growth of local tourism as an immediate effect, primarily tourism products related to health healing, well-being, Ayurveda, cultural and medicine with market segments to the travellers; however, domestic tourism bound towards attractions, events, and festivals, etc., discovering different cultures and caring for the environment, and generating new opportunities for all of us.

Steps to take:

• This crisis also presents a historic chance to improve tourism’s relationship with nature, climate change, and the environment.
• It’s time to rethink how the tourism industry affects our natural resources and ecosystems, building on existing work on sustainable tourism; to investigate how it interacts with our societies and other economic sectors; to better measure and manage it; to ensure a fair distribution of its benefits; and to accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral and resilient tourism industry.
• A concerted and coordinated reaction by all stakeholders, combined with economic recovery packages and investments in the green economy, can encourage tourist transformation.
• Embracing local values, harnessing innovation and digitization, and providing decent jobs for all, particularly for youth, women, and the most vulnerable sections in our societies, might be at the forefront of tourism’s future success.
• The industry needs to go forward with attempts to create a new model that fosters partnerships, places host people at the centre of development, pushes evidence-based policies, and invests and operates in a carbon-neutral manner.

Conclusion:

• Tourism is at a fork in the road, and the policies in place today will influence tourism in the future.
• Without continuing government backing, the survival of enterprises across the tourism sector is in jeopardy.
• While addressing the immediate socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on tourism and speeding recovery to protect millions of livelihoods, this crisis is an opportunity to rethink the tourism sector and its contribution to the SDGs, nature, and the Paris Climate Agreement, an opportunity to work toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient tourism.
• The COVID-19 crisis is a watershed moment in aligning efforts to sustain tourism-dependent livelihoods with the SDGs.
• It is necessary to examine the crisis’ long-term consequences while leveraging digitalization, supporting the low-carbon transition, and encouraging the structural changes required to build a stronger and more resource-efficient future.
• We will only be able to transform tourism, advance its contribution to the 2030 Agenda, and shift it towards an inclusive and carbon-neutral sector that harnesses innovation and digitalization, embraces local values and communities, and creates decent job opportunities for all, leaving no one behind, through collective action and international cooperation.

Q4. “China’s hegemony in Sri Lanka poses a security threat to India.” In this light, consider the necessity to restructure India’s relationship with Sri Lanka.(250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II – India & its Neighbourhood – Relations

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• Traditionally, the relationship between India and Sri Lanka is one of equals as independent nations.
• It is rich in myth and folklore, and religious, cultural, and social connections have affected it.
• This is an ideal time for Sri Lanka and India to strengthen the foundations of their relationship by combining contemporary tools with age-old wisdom and experience.
• However, China’s proximity to Sri Lanka is cause for alarm.

Body:

Relationships between India and Sri Lanka:

• The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) went into effect in March 2000.
• According to Sri Lankan Customs, bilateral trade totaled $4.38 billion in 2016.
• Development loans and lines of credit: Sri Lanka receives about a sixth of India’s development loans.
• India’s private sector invests heavily in Sri Lanka, as well as Sri Lanka’s private sector invests heavily in India. Petroleum, IT, Financial Services, Real Estate, Telecom, Hospitals, Tourism, Banking, Food Processing, and other fields of collaboration between the two countries.
• For Sri Lankan tourists visiting India, Indian railways are giving a unique package.
• For Sri Lanka, India has implemented an e-visa system.
• India is Sri Lanka’s fourth-largest investor.
• We have invested roughly $1 billion in Sri Lanka since 2003.

China’s Predominance in Sri Lanka àA Security Concern for India:

• The Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill was passed by the Sri Lankan Parliament on May 19, 2021.
• With little oversight from the Sri Lankan government, China will obtain an additional 269 hectares of reclaimed seafront off the Colombo port in the country’s south-west after the Bill becomes an Act.
• Colombo assumes importance for India because it trans-ships nearly 70% of all container cargo for and from India, mostly at Chinese-operated terminals.
• Chinese initiatives in Sri Lanka have risen tremendously, owing to the country’s importance in the Major Sea Lines of Communication.
• This not only has security issues, but also results in transit delays and financial loss for India.
• China’s debt trap diplomacy was exposed with the 99-year takeover of Hambantota port.
• This is bad news for India’s maritime security and the Indian Ocean region’s Chinese encirclement.
• The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will almost certainly have a presence in these waters as a result of the leasing of Hambantota and the Port City project, which could include bases for warships/submarines as well as a staging post for longer naval deployments in the Indian Ocean.
• The Chinese navy will be able to easily monitor Indian naval activity in the Indian Ocean.
• It will undoubtedly limit the Indian Navy’s deployment options and negate the country’s geographic advantage in these regions.
• The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is considerably different from that between China and Sri Lanka.
• Due to the presence of Tamils on both sides of the Palk Straits, India has an ethnically ambiguous maritime border with Sri Lanka and is thus involved in the island nation’s domestic affairs.

India’s engagement has to be reimagined:

• To prevent China from making further advances into Sri Lanka, India will need to continue working on the Kankesanturai port in Jaffna and the oil tank farm project in Trincomalee.
• Sri Lanka’s socioeconomic progress has remained linked to India.
• However, there are numerous solutions for dealing with imbalances and asymmetries.
• For example, Sri Lanka might encourage Indian businesses to make Colombo another business hub for them, as the country’s logistical capabilities and rest and recreation facilities continue to improve.
• Fast-tracking the integration of the two economies, but with specific and unequal treatment for Sri Lanka due to economic inequalities.
• Strong collaborations across the economic and social spectrum can encourage people-to-people bonhomie.
• There is enormous opportunity to amplify or create complementarity, employing locational and human resource potential, for capturing benefits in modern value chains.
• Legislative engagement is also critical for developing multiparty support.
• With many countries retreating into cocoons as a result of the pandemic, this is a good time for both countries to focus on alliance renewal and revitalization.

Conclusion:

• Now, India must adjust to the fact that its main foe is essentially in its backyard and adjust its preparedness and response accordingly.
• Furthermore, an unified Sino-Pakistan axis, with China being based in Gwadar, will pose a significant challenge for India.
• The governing Rajapaksa dynasty now has a fantastic personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• The presence of China on the island nation is a source of concern for India, since Beijing is known to use subversion, espionage, and sabotage to advance its national goals and objectives.
• As a result, as part of its ‘Island Diplomacy,’ India’s foreign policy toward Sri Lanka will have to develop in response to new realities and dangers.

Q5. What impact did the two Covid-19 waves have on India’s diplomacy? What challenges does India face in dealing with the pandemic’s aftermath in the near future? Explain. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II – Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian Diaspora

Model Answer:

Introduction:

• The world will recall occurrences as either pre-Covid or post-Covid in the future.
• Even India’s diplomatic structure reflects this.
• While the focus in 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, was on coordinating COVID-19 medicine exports, flights to repatriate Indians abroad (the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’) after the lockdown, and then exporting vaccines worldwide (‘Vaccine Maitri’),
• Covid Diplomacy 2.0 has a different order of tasks, both in the short and long term, following the second wave.

Body:

• Covid-19 waves have had a variety of effects on India’s diplomacy.
• When it was supposed to be a prophylactic, India provided hydro chloroquine pills to the United States and many other countries.
• When the Vaccine Maitri programme provided 6 crore vaccines to smaller countries, it received a lot of positive press.
• India also sent Remdesivir, which it is running out of in the second wave.
• India contributed ambulances to Nepal and dispatched a medical team to Bangladesh and Bhutan, among other neighbours.

Second Wave:

• The immediate priority was to address the oxygen and pharmaceutical shortages that claimed thousands of lives across the country in a matter of weeks.
• In the last week of April 2021, about 3,000 people died in Delhi alone.
• After the initial rush to send Remdesivir and favipiravir in from the US and Russia, Indian missions are now asking black fungus treatment.
• For its 140 million citizens, India is also considering buying foreign immunizations.

Challenges arising from the pandemic’s aftermath :

The country’s vaccine shortage is the result of three factors:

• The government’s failure to plan and place procurement orders on time; two India-based companies’ failure to produce vaccine doses they had committed to; and the MEA’s focus on exporting rather than importing vaccines between January and April this year.
• These include asking the US to transfer a large chunk of its AstraZeneca stockpile and to release more vaccine ingredients that are now banned for export.
• To purchase additional stock directly from Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson in the United States, and to boost vaccine production in India.
• The MEA has had to tread a difficult path on each of these topics.
• Despite support from world leaders such as the United States, Russia, and China, the promise of patent waivers from India’s joint proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will not reap early benefits.
• The third major difficulty confronting Indian diplomacy is dealing with the aftermath from the vaccine failure.
• It had to defend its decision to export vaccinations on a national level.

Conclusion:

• Smaller countries throughout the world are waiting for second dosages and are in a bind.
• Bhutan’s vaccine drive, which relied entirely on India’s promise of vaccines for the entire population, is perhaps the most egregious example.
• Making amends and regaining trust for India’s vaccine and pharmacy exports in the future will be a challenge left to the MEA and its missions in several capitals.
• With a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council and a seat on the WHO Executive Board, India might try to reclaim the ground it has lost in recent months due to COVID-19 mismanagement by taking the lead in ensuring the world is safeguarded from the next pandemic.