Modi At 74 Marks Three Decades At The Top

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first top leader of enduring durability who has come from humble beginnings. He is the first prime minister to emerge from state leadership ever in India’s history after independence. Once a provincial leader, Narendra Modi burst onto the sophisticated political constructs at the centre with the first thumping majority in 30 years. This, for himself, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that he heads.

Over the decade from 2014 to 2024, he has emerged as a charismatic, respected, and visionary global leader, much sought after in international fora including BRICS, ASEAN and many others.

If India is invited routinely to the G-7 gatherings as a guest, it is due in no small measure to Modi’s stature. The G-7 is reckoned to be the gathering of the most powerful countries in the world, including all five of the permanent UNSC countries who possess a veto.

Modi is counted as the leader not only of an India soon to become the 3^rd largest major economy in the world, behind only the United States and China, but also as a sponsor of the Global South. During the year-long leadership of the G-20 that India enjoyed recently, Modi was instrumental in bringing in the countries of the African Union, more than 50 in number, into the G-20. And this, with unanimous backing from the others. The G-20 became G-21 thereafter, with a view to creating a more equitable world.

While the G-21 grows in importance, the influence of the UN and its general assembly has waned, due to factionalism, an overweening influence of China, financial problems, and other complications.

The elevated stature for Narendra Modi has come, unlike so many others from the emerging economies or indeed the dominant West, without benefit of an expensive Western education, or the backing of a rich and influential family.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks his 74^th birthday today with fifteen years as CM of Gujarat, and a decade as PM at the centre, all the while without the slightest taint of corruption. This, is itself is a rarity in the world of politics. He has consistently enjoyed popularity ratings in the 70 plus percentile, both while at state, and at the centre. This is a phenomenon perhaps no other global politician has matched.

Mao, Castro and Stalin, may have claimed such levels of popularity, or even higher, but they did not operate in or run democracies. Their God-like personality cults were manufactured by their own state machines.

On his birthday today, Prime Minister Modi is working hard as usual. He is inaugurating 26 lakh PM Awas Yojana houses at the slum area of Gadakana in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. Odisha has recently elected the BJP to rule the state. After interacting with some of the beneficiaries there at Gadakana, he will go to the Janata Maidan in the city to officially launch the Subhadra Yojana, under which Rs.10,000 will be given to over 1 crore poor women every year, in two equal instalments, for a period of five years.

The marked difference in this as well as all the welfare schemes launched during the Modi decade at the centre, is the phenomenon of direct benefit transfer, digitally, into millions of newly created bank accounts. A revolution has taken place in banking the unbanked, and the consequent removal of middlemen and rent collectors.

In addition, Prime Minister Modi will unveil railway projects worth Rs 2,871 crores and highway infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,000 crores today.

 Prime Minister Modi and his team, mainly National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar are said to be working hard behind the scenes to bring about an end to the Ukraine-Russia War. Other interlocuters suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin are Chinese President Xi Jinping, his staunch ally, and current chair of the G-21, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But of the three heads of government, Prime Minister Modi enjoys the trust and backing of both sides, including President Joe Biden of America and Vlodymyr Zelinsky of Ukraine. Bringing about a cessation of hostilities in Europe will have profound consequences for the whole world.

In addition, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that 75% of the border disputes with China have been resolved, with every expectation that the 25% remaining issues along the LaC will also be shortly resolved. This sounds near miraculous given the border skirmishes at Galwan and Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang area. This favourable development has been corroborated by the Chinese as well. There is an anticipation that the remaining 25% of the border issues that China calls legacy issues from the time of the UPA government, including the encroachment within Indian territory in the Depsang Plateau, may be resolved, by the time Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping meet at the BRICS Summit in October 2024.

Easing of border tensions with China will be nothing short of a diplomatic breakthrough, clearing the way to renewed engagement on multiple issues between India and China. It will also weaken the Pakistani threat and levels of terrorism it sponsors against India.

The India-China standoff at the LaC has vitiated the atmosphere for the last decade, eroding trust between the two countries, and resulting in other powers exploiting the situation for their benefit.

With regard to China, many issues remain, of course, such as its attempt to dominate the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal in the immediate areas around peninsular India. There is also the belligerence displayed by China in the East and South China Seas, and towards Taiwan. The attempt to dominate most of South East Asia on a near unilateral basis is also problematic. A change of policy may now be in the works, because China is in considerable economic trouble.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent behind the scenes diplomatic initiatives with China may result in enhanced and visionary cooperation between India, China, and Russia, rewriting some aspects of geopolitics and multilateralism.

One is already mooted - an initiative in Space to build a nuclear power plant on the moon for a future human lunar colony. Will North Korea join in too?

An easing of India-China tension will not only increase Mr. Modi’s and India’s stature in the world, but afford Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government greater leverage in negotiating with America and the West over various issues. These include trade, defence cooperation and technology transfer. It might also reduce pressure and the subversion from the Western deep state to weaken Modi’s hold on power, and isolate Russia and China from India.

Other international initiatives include the efforts to create new transport corridors to Europe via West Asia as well as Iran and Russia. These promise greater ease of doing business, despite temporary setbacks from the Israel-Gaza War, the troubles from Houthi/Somali pirate attacks in the Red Sea, and the bottlenecks at the Suez Canal. This after a ramping up of trade cooperation with the UAE, Israel, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt with some free trade agreements amongst them.

A number of free trade agreements (FTAs) are in the works in Europe, and one with non- EU Europe that includes Switzerland, has already been concluded.

Prime Minister Modi’s 74^th birthday coincides with 100 days of Modi 3.0 and the work that is ongoing. The continuity of three consecutive terms has provided stability and a commendable GDP growth rate of around 7% per annum. Infrastructure development, defence, aatmanirbhar  armaments manufacturing, with exports to the US, Armenia, the Philippines. There are new initiatives in electronics manufacture under the China plus one programme, electronic chip-making with huge domestic and export potential. More development of the automotive sector, improvement in agricultural practices, massive infrastructure development, indigenous nuclear power plants. These are just some of the benefits of the Modi decade as well as the 100 days.

Work being done on the Wakf Bill, the Uniform or Secular Civil Code, progress towards ‘one nation, one election’, are all pathbreaking in nature and will all see the light of day during this term till 2029.

There is an enormous amount that needs to be tackled yet. The reform of the overburdened judiciary is a case in point.

Religious tourism, probably the biggest driver of all in India, has been set alight by the transformation of Ayodhya which is receiving many more visitors than Varanasi now. Mathura, Ujjain, the Char Dhams, Vaishnodevi, the ongoing renovations at Varanasi, are all initiated for the first time.  

The endless visionary aspects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are far ahead of his predecessors in the job. Combined with his extraordinary and single-minded appetite for work, it makes for an unstoppable combination. For the first time, most slogans, it is seen, turn into reality. It is entirely credible that India will be a prosperous developed country of nearly 1.7 billion souls by 2047, our centenary year. Our potential will be realised.

If today, our time has come to restore India to the glory it once had in ancient times, there is no better person to see it on its way. We are fortunate to have such a selfless and dedicated leader. India, that is Bharat, owes Narendra Modi a debt of gratitude.

(1537 words)

September 17^th, 2024

For: Firstpost/News18.com

Gautam Mukherjee

 

Modi Goes Shopping For LNG From Brunei, Semiconductors From Singapore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi supported by officials of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, have just undertaken a couple of strategic bilateral visits. These are designed to increase its profile in China’s backyard even as it has been trying to dominate and bully the ASEAN region, the countries bordering the East and South China Sea and indeed farther afield. And, of course, they hold great potential for an increase in bilateral trade and cooperation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the first Indian head of government to visit the strategically located and oil rich island of Brunei to boost bilateral ties and economic activity. The Indian expatriate and ethnic community were greatly enthused by the short visit, and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, 29^th in his line of rulers, laid out a red-carpet welcome second to none.

This despite Borneo’s location in the Malay Archipelago, southeast of the Malay Peninsula, and southwest of the Philippines. It is therefore not at all far from China and the South China Sea, risking a possible menace from China for warming up towards India.

Borneo is however, very close to the Western powers, and has nothing to fear in waters regularly patrolled by the US Navy. India, as a member of QUAD, and under its Act East Policy, is upgrading its neglected relationship with the island nation.  

A new chancery was inaugurated at the Indian High Commission, located near the US Embassy, on this 40^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei.

News reports state that the moderate Islamic nation of Borneo and India have agreed to engage in the areas of Defence, Space, and long-term supply of LNG to India. India currently imports a lot of its long-term supplies of LNG from Qatar.

A regular flight between the Borneo capital of Bandar Seri Begawan and Chennai was also announced.

 Prime Minister Modi went to Singapore next, the tiny Asian country with first world standards, on a two-day visit. Singapore is a much more familiar destination for our prime minister, and there have been steady bilateral visits from both sides over the years. Singapore has participated in the Malabar military exercises with India, alongside Japan and Australia. In addition, Singapore and India conduct another naval exercise bilaterally, called SIMBEX, held on a regular basis. All this, even though it also enjoys a good relationship with China. Singapore is a major transshipment port for China, amongst other things.

Again, like Borneo, there is a large, historically present ethnic Indian community in Singapore, in addition to modern residencies, comings and goings.  Indians like to invest in Singapore real-estate, Indian students go there for secondary and higher education, renowned as it is for its high academic standards, discipline, safety, and strong law and order matrix. Singapore is also favoured as a regional HQ for a large number of US and European companies.

Prime Minister Modi met with his counterpart Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam (of ethnic Indian or Sri Lankan origin from the days of British indentured labour, after the abolition of slavery, into then Malaya), Senior Minister Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. He has also met with leading members of the business community and the Indian diaspora.

Singapore citizens trace their ancestry mainly to Malaysia, China, and India, going back to the Malayan rubber plantation days of the British Empire.

Singapore is already India’s largest trading partner in Asia, with a trade value of $ 36.6 billion, and is a key partner in its ‘Act East’ Policy. In 2023, Singapore was the largest FDI investor in India, at $ 11.77 billion.

The two prime ministers, Modi and Wong, visited a leading Singaporean company, AEM Holdings Ltd., in the semiconductors and electronics sector, and discussed collaboration in this high-technology area.

During the visit, the two countries raised their bilateral cooperation to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’. This as an upgrade of the existing Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA),  there as of June 2005, which eliminated tariffs on 81% of Singapore exports to India.

The two countries signed four MoUs now, including one on collaboration in the Semiconductor Industry. The other three were to do with Educational Cooperation and Skill Development, in the field of Health and Medicine, and in the rapidly growing field of Digital Technologies.

Singapore had earlier agreed to be a prime-mover in promoting the involvement of India in the ASEAN countries, where China is most prominent.

Singapore is part of the global semiconductor value chain and is keen to invest in India to develop semiconductor clusters, as well as develop Indian talent in design and manufacturing. India, on its part is equally enthusiastic to grow this trillion-dollar opportunity along with its emerging electronic chip industry.

(786 words)

September 5^th, 2024

For: Firstpost/News18.com

Gautam Mukherjee