Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 09 September 2022
Contents
- Japan seeks stronger security ties with India
- HDI and India’s Fall
Japan Seeks Stronger Security Ties With India
Context
The second India-Japan 2+2 ministerial dialogue recently took place in Tokyo, Japan.
Relevance
GS Paper – 2: International Treaties & Agreements, Effect of Policies & Politics of Countries on India’s Interests
Mains Question
Even though India and Japan both want to keep the Indo-Pacific region open and free, there is still a lack of bilateral cooperation. Comment (250 words)
Ministerial Dialogue 2+2
- The 2+2 dialogue is a format for meetings of India’s and its allies’ foreign and defence ministers on strategic and security issues.
- A 2+2 ministerial dialogue allows partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities while taking political factors into consideration on both sides.
- India has two-plus-two dialogues with four key strategic partners: the United States, Australia, Japan, and Russia.
Japan is a 2+2 partner.
- In November 2019, India and Japan held their first 2+2 ministerial dialogue.
- The idea for a 2+2 meeting was conceived during Modi and Abe’s October 2018 summit meeting in Tokyo.
- Since 2010, India and Japan have held a 2+2 foreign and defence dialogue led by secretaries of state.
- Summary of Recent Events
- Raksha Mantri, Rajnath Singh, and Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, attended the second India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo, Japan.
- A joint statement was issued following the summit.
The joint statement’s main points
- Commitment to a global order based on rules
- Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based global order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity without naming Russia or China.
- They also emphasised the importance of all parties seeking peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, rather than resorting to force.
- Creating a free and open Indo-Pacific region
- The Ministers emphasised their shared strategic goal of achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.
- A region that is open and resilient, founded on the rule of law and free of coercion.
- On the options required for national defence
- The Japanese side stated its intention to investigate all options for national defence, including so-called counter-strike capabilities.
- The Japanese side expressed its determination to fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defence capabilities over the next five years, as well as secure a significant increase in Japan’s defence budget.
- The Indian side recognised Japan’s determination to strengthen its defence capabilities.
- Japan-India Joint Service Staff Consultations
- The Ministers agreed to begin Joint Service Staff Talks between Japan’s Joint Staff and India’s Integrated Defence Staff.
- Taken note of the advancements in military-to-military cooperation
- The Ministers greeted:
- Japan’s participation in the multilateral exercise MILAN for the first time, and
- The exercise saw the implementation of the Agreement Concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Indian Armed Forces.
- They also stated their intention to continue bilateral and multilateral exercises such as Dharma Guardian, JIMEX, and Malabar.
- Other areas of collaboration are being investigated.
- The Ministers also agreed to seek greater cooperation on HA/DR (humanitarian assistance and disaster response) and infectious disease and pandemic response.
- They recognised the enormous potential for the two countries to expand bilateral cooperation in defence equipment and technology cooperation.
- Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ongoing collaboration in the areas of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)/Robotics and the Sixth India-Japan Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation.
- They agreed to identify more concrete areas of future cooperation in defence equipment and technology.
Next Steps?
- Curbing Hegemony in the Indo-Pacific: India and Japan must transform their military strategies and capitalise on their shared interest in preventing the rise of a securing hegemony in the Indo-Pacific (US and China).
- Putting Hands Together for Digital Empowerment: India and Japan can shake hands for digital infrastructure cooperation in various fields such as 5G, Open RAN, Telecom Network Security, submarine cable systems, and Quantum Communications in order to improve digital infrastructure through the promotion of joint projects for digital transformation.
- Strengthening India’s Act East Policy: India has always placed the ‘Indo-Pacific’ at the centre of its engagement with Southeast and East Asian countries. India’s Act East Policy must be strengthened in order to find effective solutions to today’s challenges.
- Japan also works to support strategic connectivity linking South Asia to Southeast Asia by leveraging the synergy between the “Act East” policy and the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure.”
- Knowledge Exchange for Disaster Risk Reduction: In developing disaster risk reduction policies and measures in disaster-prone areas, India can benefit from Japan’s disaster management experience.
- Towards a Multipolar Asia: By reshaping their Asian strategic landscape, India and Japan have the potential to catalyse their emergence as world powers and accelerate their march toward an open and secure Indo-Pacific.
HDI and India’s Fall
Context
- India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, following a drop in its score.
- The decline is consistent with the global trend since the COVID-19 outbreak.
- The Index is part of the recently released Human Development Report (HDR) 2021-2022 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Relevance
GS Paper 2: Poverty and developmental issues
Mains Question
“Advancing human development is impossible if we continue to impose planetary pressures on others.” In the context of the Planetary Pressures-adjusted Human Development Index (PHDI), Analyze the statement. (250 Words
Human Development Index (HDI) (HDI)
- It is a statistical composite index (first published by the UNDP in 1990) that measures a country’s average achievement in three basic dimensions –
- Life expectancy at birth as a measure of health
- Education measured in terms of expected and mean years of education, and
- Living standard as measured by per capita gross national income (GNI).
Background:
- It was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and is now used by the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report to assess a country’s development.
- In addition to HDI, HDR provides:
- the Index of Multidimensional Poverty (MPI),
- the Human Development Index with Inequality (IHDI),
- since 2010, the Gender Inequality Index (GII), and
- Since 2014, the Gender Development Index (GDI) has been used.
- These were established in order to track poverty, inequality, and gender empowerment across various dimensions of human development.
- In addition, the HDI embodies Amartya Sen’s “capabilities” approach to understanding human well-being, which emphasises the importance of ends (such as a decent standard of living) over means (like income per capita).
2021-2022 Human Development Report:
Trends in general:
- According to a recent report, global progress is reversing, with the ‘Human Development Index’ falling for the second year in a row (2020 and 2021).
- Globally, nine out of ten countries’ human development performance has deteriorated as a result of multiple crises such as COVID-19, Ukraine’s war, and environmental challenges.
- This means that global human development has come to a halt for the first time in 32 years.
- A global decline in life expectancy, which has fallen from 72.8 years in 2019 to 71.4 years in 2021, has contributed significantly to the HDI’s recent decline.
- According to the most recent HDR, stress, sadness, anger, and worry have been rising over the last decade and are now at record highs as the new normal takes shape.
- The world is still not transitioning to a post-Covid-19 build-back-better scenario, according to the report.
- On the contrary, developing countries worldwide are entering a period of sharp social, political, and economic divergence, harming the most vulnerable and increasing gender inequality (which increased 6.7% globally).
The performance of India:
- India is ranked 132 out of 191 countries in the HDI for 2021, up from 130th out of 189 countries in the HDI for 2020.
- Due to a drop in life expectancy from 69.7 to 67.2 years, India’s HDI value in the “medium human development” category fell from 0.645 in 2020 to 0.633 in 2021.
- In India, the expected years of schooling are 11.9 years, while the average years of schooling are 6.7 years. The Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is $6,590.
- India ranks 122 out of 170 countries, with a value of 0.490, according to the GII.
- This means that, despite gender inequality worsening between 2019 and 2020, India’s GII value improved slightly in the latest report compared to the 2020 index (0.490 vs 0.493).
- The GII assesses gender achievement disparities in three areas: reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market participation.
- Inference
- Comparing rankings across countries is inaccurate, according to UNDP, because the HDI was calculated for 189 countries in 2020 and 191 countries this year.
- Despite the decline in India’s HDI value, it continues to outperform South Asia’s average human development.
- India’s HDI value has steadily surpassed the global average since 1990, indicating a faster rate of progress in human development than the global average.
