Q. Will COVID-19 pandemic jolt the China’s Belt and Road investments in Central Asia?
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Q. What is the possible impact of the US aid cut of USD 1 billion on Afghanistan?
Replied by Dr Yatharth Kachiar
The US State Department decided to cut the USD 1 billion in aid to Afghanistan in 2020 and warned the possibility of reducing another USD 1 billion in 2021.The US provides about $4 billion in security aid every year and roughly $500 million in civilian assistance. About 75 percent of Afghanistan’s public expenditures every year is dependent on international donations.The decision to cut the aid was taken after the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s attempts to convince the conflicting Afghan leaders, President Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah to support a unified government failed. It is crucial for the rival Afghan leaders to forge an inclusive team vis..
Q. How is COVID-19 pandemic going to impact Afghanistan?
Replied by Dr Yatharth Kachiar
The impact of COVID-19 on conflict-ridden Afghanistan can be more severe than many other countries. The country lacks the necessary health infrastructure and nutrient system to cope with the pandemic of this nature. The high rate of illiteracy, lack of public health and hygiene awareness, an economically weak and vulnerable society, porous borders, particularly with Pakistan and Iran makes Afghanistan more vulnerable. Also, the profoundly community oriented society of Afghanistan, where homes often contain several generations of family members makes social distancing a difficult task in the country. Moreover, the influx of a large number of Afghans fr..
Q. What are the options for India to deal with the COVID 19?
Replied by Soumya Awasthi
While a nationwide 21 days lockdown has begun in India from midnight (24/3) to help fight the COVID 19 , some of the other options that India can consider alongside are:- India should help the neighbouring countries in establishing the isolation wards and quarantine camps. It can give them a guideline which can help them set up a similar arrangement in their respective countries. India should provide a kind of TO DO LIST which comprises of step by step procedure to establish a replica that is there in Manesar, Delhi-NCR which was also a yardstick for other such camps in India.
- India can also setup an online training camp for the Arm..
Q. What are the issues faced by WHO workings as well as what’s the stand of WHO with regard to Corona virus outspread?
Replied by Cchavi Vasisht
WHO is a specialized agency, which is committed to achieving better health for everyone and everywhere. WHO has faced immense challenges in the past, for example when it was unable to respond to Ebola crises, as it depends on donors where 70 percent of its resources come from other countries and agencies. It also lacks specialized staff especially the social scientists. In the light of the current issue of Corona virus, WHO has adopted new ways to build awareness for example use of digital technologies especially via WhatsApp groups. This has been possible with the help of establishing a new division of data and analytics. It has been continuously monit..
Q. What will be the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on future climate change actions?
Replied by Heena Samant
The year 2020 was supposed to be important for international climate change negotiations with COP 26 scheduled to be held in Glasgow in November. However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic may put a hold on this critical event as the outbreak has already delayed crucial negotiations ahead of the November conference. While many events across the world have been cancelled, COP 26 schedule has not been changed yet.A series of important meetings have been affected due to the outbreak of the virus - cancellation of World Ocean Summit scheduled on March 9th and 10th in Tokyo and the calling off of CERA week energy conference scheduled from March 9th to March 13th..
Q. Will the COVID-19 pandemic lead to fall of Xi Jinping?
Replied by Dr Teshu Singh:
The COVID-19 is a critical test of Xi Jinping’s leadership eversince he became the head of the party in November 2012 and started projecting himself as the most powerful Chinese leader after Mao. Xi Jinping is struggling to tackle two urgent problems; fighting the pandemic and getting back the Chinese economy back on tracks. Xi Jinping failed to foresee the pandemic looming.On the contrary, in his New Year Speech, Xi Jinping had spelt out that the year 2020 is very crucial for China to achieve “a moderately prosperous society in all respect”. He talked about removing poverty and making Chinese citizenseconomically comfortable but failed to predic..
Q. Saket Singh asked : Sir, The increasing influence of Al-qaeda in kashmir and the ISIS in kerela , TN, is a matter of concern. How will the government control this matter?
Replied by Dr Sreeradha Datta:
The government is aware of the criticality of the issues mentioned. It is trying to address the grave situation through a multi-pronged approach that includes the security apparatus as well as undertaking many socio- economic measures to identify the ground realities and find ways to counter the spread of radicalism. The government is involving the communities through mentoring and other programs, as well revisiting the educational curriculum and providing vocational training too to wean away the youth from such negative influences.Date : 15/07/2019
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Q. Suman Kundu asked : (1)Should India pursue a policy of influencing elections in foreign countries or aggregate of countries as one of its foreign policy ?
This questions is in the context that we are already seeing forces inimical to democracy have started to undermine major democratic forces in a bigger way than before
(2) What is India's policy on Tibet, Taiwan and Balochistan ? I think we should exploit this issues.
(3) One of issues US started trade is theft of intellectual copy rights by china . I think India would be Trump's next target . How is India preparing for the trade war with USA
Replied by Dr Sreeradha Datta:
1. India’s official policy is not to interfere nor make any attempt to influence elections anywhere. India has traditionally supported democratic forces and will continue to do so but respects the election mandate that is delivered in very country. 2. Tibet: India and the People's Republic of China signed the Agreement between the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India on 29 April 1954. This Agreement was aimed at promoting trade and cultural intercourse between India and Tibet Region of China and facilitating pilgrimage and travel by the peoples of India an..
Q. Abhijeet Singh asked : For the past 70 years, Kashmir was considered as a political and development problem and the government was trying to provide funds for its development to bring them back to main stream. What would be the strategy if we consider Kashmir as a politico-religious issue to counter the Wahabism and Islamization of Kashmir which has been denied by all so far?
Replied by Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee (retd):
Really speaking, Kashmiris themselves chose to be part of India, of course with certain trappings of autonomy. Development was never the problem there, corrupt politics was. That was till the 1980s, by which time the J&K was more or less well integrated into the Indian Union. Pakistan’s and its instigated separatists’ claim over Kashmir is based on religious affiliation. But they had to clothe that crass and universally rejected argument in political shroud, while the subversion of Islamic Umma had to be kept alive. Our long years of overlook of external funded societal radicalisation allowed religious fundamentalism to come to the fo..Contact Us