Can India Electrify The Automobile Industry?

India has been a member of the Paris Climate Treaty and has shown commitment towards bringing down its CO₂ emission levels which are among the highest in the world. To facilitate its targets, the government planned for full electrification of its vehicles.

Even though the plans may seem ambitious, there hasn't been a concrete policy step towards this direction. Despite India showing bright prospects for an EV market with the automobile manufacturers also showing interest, the government's flip flop on policy has been slowing down this adoption to EVs in the country. 

However, many Indian states have taken up charge in setting up such policies. Most of the listed large states, in their policies, primarily focused on the establishment of manufacturing and ancillary industries associated with the electric vehicle ecosystem while others focused on the regulatory framework necessary to ease the operation of electric vehicles, including electricity supply.

• The National Electric Mobility mission 2020 was launched in 2013 with the aim of achieving national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric Vehicles (EV) in the country.

• Piyush Goyal, the minister of coal and railways, said in 2017 that a group of ministers had been charged to ‘lead the initiative and make sure that by 2030 most, if not all, vehicles in India are powered by electricity’.

• If successful, the shift to shared, electric and connected mobility could help India save up to $300bn in oil import and nearly 1 gigatonne of CO₂ emission by 2030, as per a recent report by FICCI and Rocky Mountain Institution.

• However, after consultation with NITI Aayog, the target was scaled down to 30% electrification by 2030. Lack of charging in infrastructure was cited as the biggest reason for the scaling down.

• The country still doesn’t allow companies to set up charging stations as only power distributor are allowed to sell power. Even with this permission, India would have to depend heavily on lithium imports to fulfill the batteries demand.

• Given this background, the Indian government decided against formulating an electric vehicle policy.

• The lack of clarity has also deterred foreign automaker from entering the Indian EV market. Currently, Mahindra Reva is the only major electric car maker in the nation.

• Many of the Indian states such as Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, have instituted guidelines to ensure faster adoption of EVs. Karnataka became the first Indian state to roll out a dedicated EV policy in 2017.

• The Maharashtra government also approved EV policy in 2018, aimed at creating infrastructure for the production of up to 500,000 electric vehicles in the state within the next five years. It also working on setting up charging stations in the state with provisions to offer a maximum subsidy of rupees 1,00,000 per station.

The Slow Down In China And Its Global Impact

Whats Actually Happening?

China is expected to account for almost 19 percent of global economic activity at the end of this year. This, coupled with the fact that it is the second largest economy in the world, makes the world more vulnerable to a slowdown. Many people point out the outgoing trade war between china and the US for its downturn. But there are many other reasons behind the phenomenon. This downward trend can be attributed to the diminishing effectiveness of several key contributors such as the rising quantity and quality of the labour force, the more efficient allocation of resources and investment capital, the rapid upgrading of technology, as well as sustained high export growth, which fueled the country’s spectacular growth in the past three decades.

China’s overall debt also jumped to 300 per cent of GDP by 2018, up from 164 per cent in 2008 in order to shift the economy from that of investment based to aconsumption based one. This increases the exposure to bas loans fuelled by the shadow banking system. The real estate market also has shown sign of a slowdown due to the huge supply-demand gap. All of these factors could spell trouble for the country which has been assimilated so deeply into the global economic system that any potential signs of deceleration could spell trouble for the whole world.

• China recorded a GDP growth rate of 6.6 per cent for the year 2018, its lowest since 1990.
• China's slowdown makes its trade partner vulnerable as well. China is a prominent market for export from South Korea, japan, and the ASEAN nation.
• Countries dependent on commodity export, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Indonesia, could also be impacted.
• Softening demand in china is also being felt by companies around the world. Slowing sales of goods from iPhones to automobiles have promote warning from the likes of Apple and Jaguar Rover PLC.
• China is the world’s biggest automotive market, but sales have fallen for the first time.
• Half of all the world’s steel, coal, copper, and cement is imported by china. A fall in demand is likely to impact global commodity prices.
• For India, its exports of raw material to chin could suffer. A weakening Yuan could also make the Chinese import even cheaper, potentially leading to the dumping of Chinese goods in country.

Latest Updates

The on going Trade War between US and China as already cost US economy $7.8Bn. Over the past year, The US and China has placed tariffs on billions of dollars of one another's goods  - a trade war that has contributed to the slowdown of the global economy.

Reports say that Washington official will make a visit to Beijing next weak and have a face to face conversation with the Chines related to the topic.

Manohar Parrikar-The Man Who Made A Difference

What Just Happened?

17^th March 2018, Goa’s 4 time prime minister and our former Defense Minister Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Parrikar died at the age of 63 in Goa due to pancreatic cancer.

Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Parrikar

An Overview

Manohar Parrikar born in a small village named Parra in Mapusa, Goa on 13 december 1955. He completed his high school from Loyola High School, Margao. He then completed his graduation from IIT Bombay in 1978. He was the first IIT alumina who served as an MLA in State. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by the IIT Bombay in 2001.

He joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a very young age and became a mukhya shikshak (chief instructor) during his final year of schooling. After getting graduated from IIT he resumed RSS work in Mapusa.He was a an active member of RSS north Goa unit, and played a very important role in Ram Janmabhoomi Movement.

He was then seconded by RSS to the BJP to fight against the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. As a member of the BJP Parrikar was elected to the legislative assembly of Goa in 1994. 

He successfully contested the election to become Chief Minister of Goa for the first time on 24 October 2000. In 2001, the Parrikar government had turned over fifty-one government primary schools in rural areas to Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the Hindu nationalist group Sangh Parivar, inviting criticism from certain educationists.

He was the reason behind the success of BJP in Goa.

In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as the Minister of Defence, he replaced Arun Jaitley. Manohar Parrikar, while serving as Minister of Defence of India, raised a question about why India should bind itself to the no first use policy.

On March 14, 2017, Parrikar became the Chief Minister of Goa for the fourth time. He was so loved and liked by the Goa people that the Goa Forward Party led by Vijai Sardesai, one of the parties who allied with BJP in Goa after election results were announced, had said that it would extend support to the BJP only if Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was brought back to the state as Chief Minister.

Here is a remarkable parable written by our former Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parikkar

He was a politician without hatters.A man known for his honesty. The face behind the successful surgical strike.

Now What?

Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members but currently, there are 36 MLAs following the death of BJP legislators, Manohar Parrikar and Francis D'Souza, and the resignation of two congress lawmakers. The congress is trhe largest single party with 14 MLAs.

The former assembly speaker Promod Sawant is now the Chief Minister of Goa.

The Mosques Mass Shooting

What Just Happened?

15 March 2019, 49 people were killed in two mosques in Christchurch,New Zealand by a gunman, identified as an Australian extremist whose name was Brenton Tarrant.

An Overview

• Fraser Anning a far-right Australian senator blamed the violent act on Muslim immigration.

• Before the attack the gunman did live streaming and in one of his line said to subscribe PewDiePie, a YouTube channel which has always been in controversies for its views towards growing Muslim immigration.

• Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand has been cancelled due to the mosques attack.

• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemn and said that people like Fraser Anning has no place in Australian Parliament.

What Did Fraser Anning Said?

In a statement shared by an Australian journalist on Twitter, the Queensland senator also wrote: “As always, left-wing politicians and the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with gun laws or those who hold nationalist views, but this is all cliched nonsense.

“The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”

The remarks were denounced by the UK home secretary, Sajid Javid, who accused the senator of stoking extremism.

“At a time for grieving and reflection, this Australian senator … fans the flames of violence and extremism,” he tweeted.

“Australians will be utterly ashamed of this racist man. In no way does he represent our Australian friends.”

What Is The Alt-Right Ideology?

It is a Modern term for right-wing. It is an ideological grouping associated with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints, characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics and by the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content. Basically these people are scared of becoming minorities in the society and also afraid of the increasing no. of Muslims . The Alt-Right has been said to include elements of white nationalism,white supremacy, antisemitism, right-wing populism,nativism and the neoreactionary movement

Pakistan Wants India Removed From FATF

A LETTER FROM PAKISTAN

On March 9, 2019 Pakistan wrote a letter to the president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ,  requesting for the removal of India from one of FATF’s regional sub-divisions responsible for reviewing its progress. FATF has listed Pakistan among the “grey-listed’ countries.

India, which co-chairs the FATF’s Asia-Pacific Joint Group, has long demanded that Pakistan meet certain established standards, especially with regard to terror financing. 

According to a report in Dawn, Pakistani Finance Minister Asad Umar has demanded that India be replaced by any other country as the co-chair of the joint group.

The letter cites “India’s animosity towards Pakistan” is a reasons for its request, especially due to the recent act done by India  “recent violation of Pakistan’s airspace and dropping of bombs” in retaliation of the Pulwama terror attack.

REQUEST TO BAN INDIA FROM FATF

“Given clear Indian motivation to hurt Pakistan’s economic interests, Indian presence among the

evaluators and as co-chair of the Joint Group would undermine the impartiality and spirit of the peer

review process, which lies at the heart of FATF’s methodology and objective assessment,”

WHAT IS FATF?

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body which was established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions.

The FATF headquarter is in Paris,France.

The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

 FATF currently have 36 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations, representing most major financial centers in all parts of the globe.

PAKISTAN’S GREY LIST ENTRY

The FATF in February 2018 nominated Pakistan for extensive monitoring of its “serious deficiencies” in countering terror financing, under the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) commonly known as the grey list. The nominations were supported by the US, the UK, France, Germany and India.

IF A COUNTRY COMES IN THE GREY LIST, IT FACES MANY PROBLEMS LIKE

1. Economic sanctions from international institutions (IMF, World Bank,ADB etc.) and countries.
2. Problem in getting loans from international institutions (IMF, World Bank, ADB etc.) and countries.
3. Overall Reduction in its international trade.
4. International boycott.

WHAT IS THE GREY LIST?

FATF has 2 types of lists- Black list and Grey list.

The countries that are considers as uncooperative tax havens comes under FATF's Black list

The black list countries are also known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs).

WILL PAKISTAN ENTER BLACK LIST?

China has become the biggest lender to Pakistan surpassing Japan. Pakistan owes $19 billion (1/5 of its total debt) to China.

The CPEC loans will add $14 billion to Pakistan’s total public debt, raising it to $90 billion by June 2019, abating Pakistan’s economic ability to service huge amount of debt.

China Saves Masood Azhar

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

China yet again saves Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by putting on hold a proposal at the UN for a ban on Masood Azhar, bringing to a halt a renewed push by France, US and UK to blacklist Masood Azhar the Pakistan-based terrorist after the Pulwama attack.

This is the fourth time China has put the same proposal on a 'technical hold' before finally terminating the proposal. The hold can last up to a maximum of nine months, after which as usual China will again use its veto power to formally block, or terminate, the proposal.

THE PROPOSAL

The proposal to designate Azhar under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council was brought by France, the UK and the US on February 27, days after the suicide bomber of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 44 CRPF soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, leading to a flare-up in tensions between India and Pakistan.

POINTS TO NOTE

• The Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee members had 10 working days to raise any objections to the proposal. The no-objection period deadline was scheduled to end at 3PM local time (New York) Wednesday, (12:30 AM IST Thursday). 
• A diplomat at the UN told PTI, Just before the deadline, China put a “technical hold” on the proposal, 
• The diplomat said China has asked for “more time to examine” the case.

“This has prevented action by the international community to designate the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a proscribed and active terrorist organization which has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February 2019,” it said in a statement in New Delhi.

POWER OF SANCTIONS

An assets freeze under the Sanctions Committee mans that all states should freeze all the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities without an delay. 

The travel ban entails preventing the entry into or transit by all states through their territories by selected individuals. Under the arms embargo, all states are required to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale and transfer from their territories or by their nationals outside their territories to the designated individuals and entities.

INDIA’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO UN, SYED AKBARUDDIN

WHAT NOW?

In October 2019 India will have a chance to get Pakistan under The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Black list, till then lets hope for the best . India has faced worse condition than what we see now, there was time when USA and Pakistan were allies and India was not strong enough to fight with them still we survived and grew. And today India is one of the largest economies.

Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty Issues

PHILIPPINES WARNS US

Philippines' high defense official have questioned key accord with America over fears that it might drag the country into war within the South China Sea, a day after an American Boeing B-52 bomber performed a flyover of the contested region.

Delfin Lorenzana The Defense Secretary Of Philippines said that the Philippines-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) was ambiguous and vague and risked causing 

"confusion and chaos during a crisis."

PHILIPPINES-US MUTUAL DEFENSE TREATY

The Mutual Defense Accord between the Republic of the Philippines and America was signed on 30th August, 1951, in Washington, D.C. between representatives of  Philippines and  America

The overall accord contained eight articles and dictated that both nations would support one another if either the Philippines or the United States were to be attacked by an external party.

The differences  arised from the actual fact that the United States did not expressly stated whether or not Philippine-claimed disputed territory falls under the provisions of the mutual defense treaty.

TIMELINE

• 1542 - Spanish expedition claimed the islands and named them the Philippines after the heir to the Spanish throne.
• 1896 - People of Philippines campaign for independence from Spanish rule.
• 1898 - Revolutionary forces under Emilio Aguinaldo to proclaim independence.
• 1898 December - During brief Spanish-American War, US Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. Spain conceded Philippines to US, which proclaims military rule.

HISTORY

The Philippines became a colony of the United States after the Spanish–American War and the subsequent Philippine–American War. 

In 1935, underneath the terms of the Tydings–McDuffie Act, the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth, the Philippine Commonwealth, with full independence planned for 10 years later.

PHILIPPINE–AMERICAN DEFENCE

COOPERATION

On 28 April 2014, the two governments executed an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) aiming to enhance cooperative capacities and efforts in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The EDCA is ment to promote the following between the Philippines the United States:

• Interoperability 
• Capacity building towards AFP modernization 
• Strengthening AFP for external defense  
• Maritime Security Maritime Domain Awareness 
• Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR)

USA PROVOCATION

Recently a US Boeing B-52 bomber flew near contested islands in the sea, according to US Pacific Air Forces, which oversees air operations in the region. This was the first flyover involving a nuclear-capable B-52 in a long time.

THE TENSION

A MDT was signed between the US and the Philippines in 1951, during the early years of the Cold War. It states that both countries have to come to the assistance of the other in the event of an "armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.“ In December 2018, Lorenzana ordered to review whether the treaty was still valid or relevant today.

WHAT USA SAID RECENTLY

"As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft, or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article 4 of our Mutual Defense Treaty," Pompeo

Italy To Join China's Belt And Road Initiative

What is 'Belt And Road Initiative'?

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious effort to improve regional cooperation and connectivity on a large scale. The main aim of BRI is to strengthen infrastructure, trade, and investment links between China and  65 other countries that covers over 30 percent of global GDP, 62 percent of  the world population and 75 percent of the known energy reserves. The BRI primarily consists of the Silk Road Economic Belt, linking China to almost all Central and South Asia and onward to Europe, and the New Maritime Silk Road, linking China to the nations of South East Asian countries, the Gulf Countries, North Africa, and on to Europe. China has identified six other economic corridors to link other countries to the Belt and the Road initiative. The scope of the initiative is still taking shape. More recently the initiative has been interpreted to be open to all countries as well as international and regional organizations.

Overall, the BRI has seen some 2,220 deals worth $1.2tn announced in more than 80 countries since the scheme’s inception in 2013.

Italy In Belt And Road Initiative

Recently Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” infrastructure plan could be good news for Italy, confirming that he might sign an accord with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi is due to travel to Italy from March 22-24 and Giuseppe Conte said Rome and Beijing were looking to agree to a framework deal during the state visit. Despite reports that the United States was concerned about their key ally joining the venture. Italy agreed to join China's BRI. 

1.WHAT ITALY STANDS TO GAIN
The BRI is not a multilateral organisation and it does not have any protocol for admitting members. Neither is it a trade pact that imposes clear rules on participants in return for trade benefits.When a country signs  memorandum of understanding (MOU), it does not becomes a “member” of the BRI,  neither does it necessarily become entitled to the construction of Chines-funded infrastructure projects, though such deals do sometimes follow an MOU’s signing.

2. WHY IT MATTERS FOR ITALY 

One of the main reasons behind the decrease of direct investment by Chinese companies in Europe dropped by 40 per cent last year to €17.3bn was because of stricter controls imposed by Beijing on outward investment.

Since Italy is a part for EU, it is facing difficulties in balancing its growth targets with the EU's stringent fiscal norms, the same way the UK was facing which resulted in Brexit. The tensions surfaced in recent negotiations with Brussels led to a revised Italian budget. Now Italy is counting on its BRI endorsement to boost their investments, given recent reductions in Chinese outflows into the EU.

Italy–United States Relation

Italy has beens USA's close ally ever since NATO was created. Italy has many American military bases at Vicenza and Livorno (army), Aviano (air force), and Sigonella, Gaeta, and Naples the home port for the U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet. There are about 11,500 American military personnel stationed in Italy. Italy hosts the NATO Defense College in Rome.

USA’S RESPONSE

A White House spokesman criticised BRI on Wednesday as a “made by China, for China” initiative and said the US was “sceptical that the Italian government’s endorsement will bring any sustained economic benefits to the Italian people”.

UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

CHINESE INTEREST IN ITALY 

Gaining access to Italy’s ports infrastructure, to expand its trading routes from the Mediterranean to northern Europe, is a priority for the Chinese. Italy’s state naval construction group Fincantieri last year struck a deal to make cruise ships for China, which was again not liked by American Government.

CHINESE IMPACT IN ITALY 

• China has swooped on strategic assets such as Italy’s power grid, high-tech manufacturers and luxury brands. 
• According to the Italy-China Foundation more than 600 Italian companies have received some kind of Chinese investment for a total value of €13.7bn since 2000.
• China accounts for about 2.7 per cent of Italy’s exports, worth €11.1bn, making it Italy’s eighth largest export market. Imports from China are worth €27.3bn, equal to 1.3 per cent of the Chinese export market, and China’s 19th largest export market.