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As the United States confirmed Wednesday that President Joe Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, ahead of the G20 Summit over the weekend, the government is considering inviting leaders of the Quad grouping for the Republic Day celebrations next year.
A final call, sources said, will be taken only after ascertaining the availability of the leaders — President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
An invitation to be the Republic Day chief guest is highly symbolic from the government’s perspective. New Delhi has been weaving a strategy with hospitality to decide its chief guest for the Republic Day.
The choice of chief guest every year is dictated by a number of reasons — strategic and diplomatic, business interest and international geopolitics.
A formal invitation is usually sent only after ascertaining informally the availability of the leaders. Sources said the Indian side is working on those lines since all three leaders of the Quad grouping will be here for the G20 Summit. It is India’s turn to host the Quad Leaders’ Summit next year.
Govt & Politics
On One election, CEC says ready to hold polls as per legal provisions (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Amid a raging political debate over the BJP’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ idea of holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies in the country, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, responding to a query if the Election Commission was ready for such an election, that the panel was “ready to conduct elections as per legal provisions”.
The CEC, who was briefing reporters in Bhopal on the preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, said, “Our work is to deliver the elections before time. That time has been stipulated in the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act.”
He said under the provisions of the RP Act, elections can be announced six months before the 5-year tenure of the government ends, and that a similar situation exists for the state Assemblies.
According to the legal procedures, the Constitution and RP Act, we have a mandate to conduct the election and we are ready.
The Centre, citing “national interest”, named an eight-member high-level committee to “examine and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections” to Lok Sabha, state Assemblies, municipalities and panchayats.
In Madhya Pradesh, there are a total of 230 Assembly seats including 47 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 35 for Scheduled Castes (SC). There are a total of 5.52 crore voters in the state – 2.85 crore males, 2.67 crore females and 1,336 transgenders.
Engagement with ASEAN key pillar of Act East policy: PM (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the group’s ties with New Delhi.
In a departure statement ahead of his visit to Indonesia, Modi said he looked forward to discussing the future contours of India’s partnership with ASEAN countries during his meetings with the leaders of the grouping.
The Prime Minister is visiting Indonesia to participate in the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy.
I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties. After the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit.
This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges.
Govt finalizing letter of request to buy US drones (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
India is in the final stages of drafting the Letter of Request (LoR) to send to the United States government for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics (GA).
As per the officials, the three services’ requirements have already been taken in and the defence ministry will vet and finalise them.
The LoR, which would also include details of equipment and terms of the procurement, is expected to be sent across within a month, they said.
Based on the LoR, the US government and the defence ministry will finalise the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) where details of equipment and terms of the procurement would be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS programme and the price and terms offered by the US government and GA to other countries.
An official said subsequent discussions will be held over execution of the project, including training people and providing training material as well as spares support. “We will look for spare support for the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) through Indian partners,” the official said.
Express Network
Part of spl session likely to be held in new Parliament (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The new Parliament building, which was inaugurated on May 28 and is yet to open its doors to MPs and visitors, will likely host at least a part of the forthcoming special session that is scheduled to be held from September 18 to 22, according to government sources.
The building, adjacent to the old complex, was readied for the Monsoon Session. It was, however, not put to use during the session from July 20 till August 11.
According to sources, the building is now set to be used at least for a part of the special session. Following the session, the building is set to be showcased to speakers from legislatures of G20 countries for the Parliament20 meeting on October 13-14.
An event under the government’s LiFE (lifestyle for environment) campaign for the visiting speakers would be held at the new building on October 12.
While the construction work at the site was complete, last-minute checks of systems — including security, quorum bell volume, air-conditioning temperature and water supply — were being carried out in the run-up to the Monsoon Session in June, as per government sources. However, the Monsoon Session was entirely held in the old heritage building.
While announcing the special session on August 31, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi did not clarify the agenda of the session or the venue.
G20 in New Delhi
India right country at right time to hold G 20 presidency: Sunak (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
India’s diversity and its extraordinary successes means it is the “right country” at the “right time” to hold the G20 presidency, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, as he hailed Narendra Modi’s leadership over the last year, noting that India’s presidency of the bloc came when the world is facing innumerable challenges.
In an exclusive interview to PTI just days ahead of the G20 summit in Delhi on September 9-10, Sunak, the first Indian-origin prime minister of Britain, said the relationship between the UK and India will define the future of the two countries, even more than it is defining the present.
This country’s scale, diversity and its extraordinary successes means India is the right country at the right time to hold the G20 Presidency.
I pay tribute to Prime Minister Modi’s leadership over the last year and it’s wonderful to see India showing such global leadership,” he said. The prime minister’s responses to PTI’s questions were sent by email.
We will also work closely with India through their Presidency of the G20 to address the biggest challenges the world is facing, from stabilising the global economy to dealing with climate change.
The British premier, PM Modi, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida and other G20 leaders are set to deliberate extensively on pressing global issues including consequences of the Ukraine war at the G20 summit.
Editorial
Less G in G20 (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
In preparing to host the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed credit for converting a heads of government meeting into “a people’s festival”.
The government did well to popularise the Indian G20 agenda among people across the country and the world, even if this was sometimes done a la Bollywood style.
It is, therefore, striking that in the run-up to the summit there has been considerable criticism of the Prime Minister’s leadership style in international media.
The world is taking an increasingly critical view of India. The Pew Research Institute recently reported that while 68 per cent of Indians polled felt that India is “getting stronger”, in most other G20 countries, including the United States, no more than a third felt this way and close to a half in fact felt nothing much had changed as far as India’s “influence in the world” is concerned.
Part of the reason for this may well be that global “influence”, so to speak, is not shaped by governments alone but by people and civil society institutions and the interaction between them.
Official propaganda only feeds one’s own ego and is usually a waste of money. Consider the fact that at the government-to-government (G2G) level, China has become very “unpopular” in the West and yet, even today, China attracts more western tourists and business than India. Public perceptions about nations are as important as G2G relations.
In fact, when diplomatic relations worsen, people-to-people (P2P) contacts can help maintain a balance in the relationship between nations, especially neighbours.
World
China sends ASEAN a message: Do not takes sides, avoid blocs over conflicts (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said it is important to avoid a "new Cold War" when dealing with conflicts between countries as world leaders gathered in Indonesia amid sharpening geopolitical rivalries across the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking at an annual summit involving members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan and South Korea, Li said countries needed to "appropriately handle differences and disputes".
At present, it is very important to oppose taking sides, bloc confrontation and a new Cold War. ASEAN, which has warned of the danger of getting dragged into major powers' disputes, is also holding wider talks with Li, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and leaders of various partner countries including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India.
Neither U.S. President Joe Biden nor his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is attending the summit.
Japan joins India& China’s neighbours in rejecting Beijing map, lodges protest (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Japan has joined India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan to lodge protests against China over its new "standard map" for including the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea as part of its territory.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told the media in Tokyo on Tuesday that Japan has lodged a strong protest with China through diplomatic channels over a new map released by Beijing last month.
Tokyo urged Beijing to rescind the map because it has a description based on China's unilateral claims on the Senkaku Islands in southern Japan's Okinawa Prefecture, Mr Matsuno has been quoted as saying by the Japanese media.
The map describes the Senkakus as the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese name for the islands. The Japanese-administered islands in the East China Sea are claimed by Beijing.
The islands are indisputably an inherent part of Japanese territory, both historically and under international law.
Japan "responds in a calm and resolute way, based on its policy to stand firm in protecting people's lives and properties, as well as the country's land, seas and airspace.
Economy
Leveraging capital for MDBs, crypto norms climate transitions to be key talking point (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A greater leveraging of capital for multilateral development banks (MDBs), common norms for crypto, financial inclusion action plan, and climate transition involving pricing and non-pricing tools are going to feature as the key discussion points in the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit starting September 9.
Out of total 27 deliverables under India’s G20 finance track agenda, 10 have been endorsed and the other 17 have been welcomed by G20 delegations, sources said. Differences over food and energy insecurity issues, especially opposition from Russia, however, are still the sticking points, with the Indian presidency willing to consider inclusion of the opposing view in joint declaration text instead of a footnote.
Meanwhile, there is also opposition from China on any debt package having “climate resilient” features under the discussions to address debt issues of lower-income and vulnerable middle-income countries.
The G20 nations are expected to discuss a joint ‘synthesis paper’ by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) which has now been submitted and is being discussed at the meeting of finance deputies in New Delhi on September 5-6 ahead of the Leaders’ Summit.
The G20 summit will focus on a comprehensive roadmap and “building blocks” for common norms to regulate crypto. “The roadmap and building blocks have almost been arrived at. Of course, this is subject to the leaders agreeing to it”.